NTSB WPR23LA054 — 2022-12-04 · Fergus Falls, Minnesota, United States

Current FAA registration · N926HM

Make / Model: CESSNA A185F
Year of manufacture: 1974 · 48 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR IO-520-D (300 hp)
Seats / Engines: 6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20170707
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ACD52F

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N926HM Cessna A185F None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll, resulting in a runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that, during the takeoff roll, the airplane drifted off the left edge of the runway. Corrective action was attempted, however the airplane encountered ice off the side of the runway preventing recovery. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and right-side lower fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_WPR23LA054.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers