NTSB CAROL · Event
Event ANC93LA184
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
THE PILOT'S IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION. THE ROUGH WATER IN THE TAKEOFF AREA WAS A FACTOR.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On September 17, 1993, at 1647 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Cessna 185 airplane, N84627, operated by Ketchikan Air Service, Inc. of Ketchikan, Alaska, hit a large swell and experienced a collapsed landing gear while attempting to takeoff from the Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base, Ketchikan, Alaska. The commercial pilot and the two passengers were not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The unscheduled domestic passenger flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 135 at the time. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and a company VFR flight plan was filed. Following the accident during a telephone conversation, the pilot stated the following, in part: "I started the takeoff run in smooth water. Just before reaching takeoff airspeed, I hit a large swell which launched the airplane into the air prematurely. When the plane came back down on the water, it was immediately hit with another large swell. I reduced power and taxied back to the dock. I could not avoid the large swells which were caused by a nearby passing boat." According to the operator's Director of Maintenance, Joe Markley, the right rear float fitting was sheared and the fuselage in that area and the left aileron were substantially damaged.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Ketchikan Air's Director of Operations, Roger Merchant, stated that the results were negative from the pilot's post-accident toxicological tests. DURING THE TAKEOFF RUN, AND JUST BEFORE REACHING TAKEOFF AIRSPEED, THE FLOATPLANE HIT A LARGE SWELL AND WAS LAUNCHED INTO THE AIR. WHEN THE PLANE TOUCHED BACK DOWN ON THE WATER, IT WAS IMMEDIATELY HIT WITH ANOTHER LARGE SWELL. THE PILOT REDUCED POWER AND TAXIED BACK TO THE DOCK. THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED DURING THE COLLISION WITH THE WATER. THE PILOT SAID HE COULD NOT AVOID HITTING THE LARGE SWELLS WHICH WERE CAUSED BY A NEARBY PASSING BOAT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_1993_ANC93LA184.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (maintenance). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2026 · Journal article (IJAAA)
From Reactive to Predictive: A hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework for Data-Driven Maintenance in Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments
Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains incon…
- Semantic Scholar 2025 · Article (Applied Sciences)
Decision-Making Framework for Aviation Safety in Predictive Maintenance Strategies
The implementation of predictive maintenance (PM) in aviation presents unique challenges due to strict safety requirements, complex operational environments, and regulatory constraints.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance
With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying ta…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (JAAER)
A New Trajectory in UAV Safety: Leveraging Reinforcement Learning for Distance Maintenance Under Wind Variations
In the field of aviation, safety is a critical cornerstone, and the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems is deeply connected with this principle.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Just Culture in Aviation: A Metaphorical Study on Aircraft Maintenance Students
Just Culture, a sub-dimension of safety culture, has been a prominent and debated topic in aviation safety in recent years.
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2024 · Journal article (IJAAA)
Performance PRISM: A Comprehensive Framework For Performance Measurement In Aircraft Maintenance
Aircraft maintenance is governed by rigorous safety requirements and high operational complexity, demanding robust performance measurement frameworks to ensure optimal maintenance practices.
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗