ANC96TA075

Factual narrative

On May 20, 1996 at 1250 Alaska daylight time, a "Tundra" tire equipped Cessna-A185F airplane, N56581, operated by the U.S. Department of Interior's National Park Service, sustained substantial damage while landing on Runway 08 at Juneau International Airport, Juneau, Alaska. The solo commercial certificated pilot was uninjured. The government flight operated in visual meteorological conditions under 14 CFR Part 91, and departed Gustavus, Alaska at 1210 Alaska daylight time. The pilot reported that while on short final approach he noted a 15 to 20 degree crosswind from the right. He said as he began the landing flare, he sensed the airplane drifting. He placed the right, upwind wheel on the hard-surfaced runway first, and felt a drift to the left. Additional right aileron was added, but the airplane veered to the left, and the right wing contacted the runway. The pilot braked the airplane to a stop on the north edge of the runway. Upon leaving the airplane, he observed damage to the right wing, and a deflated right main tire. The pilot wrote in his report to the NTSB, under the section titled, Recommendation (How Could This Accident Been Prevented): "Better X-wind technique" Surface wind at the Juneau Airport at the time of the accident was reported to be from 110 degrees at 15 knots. The airplane's right wheel assembly, inclusive of the 8.50X10 inch tire, inner tube, and Gar Aero wheel adapters, were examined by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) at the hangar of Office of Aircraft Services (OAS) in Anchorage, Alaska, on June 17. Neither the IIC, or the Chief of Maintenance for OAS, were able to find any evidence of preaccident mechanical deficiency or other anomaly with the wheel assembly. The pilot was landing a tailwheel airplane modified with over size 'Tundra' tires on a hard surfaced runway. He observed a crosswind from the right during the landing flare, and attempted to correct for the airplane's drift by placing the upwind (right) tire on the runway first. The airplane touched down on the right main tire first, and the pilot said he felt some drift, and then the airplane veering to the left. The right wing subsequently scraped the runway before the pilot was able to bring the airplane to a stop. Damage was observed to the right wing, and the right main tire was flat. Postaccident inspection of the right wheel assembly disclosed no evidence of preaccident mechanical anomaly. The pilot wrote in his statement that the accident could have been prevented by the use of better crosswind techniques. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12