NTSB WPR25LA014 — 2024-10-12 · Seattle, Washington, United States

Current FAA registration · N185WK

Make / Model: CESSNA A185E
Year of manufacture: 1970 · 54 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR IO-520-D (300 hp)
Seats / Engines: 6 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20240221
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A1553D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N185WK Cessna A185E None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing roll with a crosswind.

Factual narrative

According to the pilots of the tailwheel-equipped airplane, the pilot/owner offered to let the second pilot land the airplane. During the landing, the airplane landed hard, bounced, and began to yaw to the right. Both pilots then applied control inputs to regain control of the airplane, however the airplane ground looped to the right. Subsequently, the airplane’s left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing impacted the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. At the time of the accident, the pilots were landing on runway 14L with wind from 240° at 5 knots. The pilots reported 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.

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

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_WPR25LA014.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.