NTSB DEN91LA123 — 1991-09-02 · CONCHAS DAM, New Mexico, United States

Current FAA registration · N93272

Make / Model: CESSNA A185F
Year of manufacture: 1976 · 15 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES (285 hp)
Seats / Engines: 6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19761209
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ACF07F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N93272 Cessna A185F None

Probable cause & findings

LANDING GEAR LOCKING MECHANISM LOOSE, LANDING GEAR WHEEL DEPLOYED INADVERTENTLY, AND MAINTENANCE ALIGNMENT NOT PERFORMED. FACTORS WERE: PROPELLER GOVERNOR UNDERSPEED, MAINTENANCE ADJUSTMENT NOT CORRECTED, AND LOWERING OF FLAPS NOT PERFORMED.

Factual narrative

THE AIRPLANE WATERLOOPED DURING THE TAKEOFF RUN AFTER NEARLY WATERLOOPING ON THE PREVIOUS LANDING. POSTACCIDENT EXAMINATION DISCLOSED THE LANDING GEAR CABLE WAS IMPROPERLY RIGGED, ALLOWING THE LEFT AFT PONTOON WHEEL TO DEPLOY. MAXIMUM RPM COULD NOT BE ATTAINED BECAUSE THE PROPELLER GOVERNOR WAS NOT PROPERLY ADJUSTED. A REVIEW OF THE ACCIDENT VIDEO TAPE REVEALED AIRCRAFT HAD ATTAINED SUFFICIENT FLYING SPEED. PILOT DID NOT DEPLOY TAKEOFF FLAPS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_DEN91LA123.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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