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ANC93LA184

1993-09-17 · KETCHIKAN, Alaska, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport 5KE

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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