Cessna 207 accident near Bethel, Alaska, December 7, 1999
On December 7, 1999 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N1747U, was destroyed in an accident near Bethel, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 6 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Factors associated with the accident were low ceilings, fog, and snow-covered terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 7, 1999 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N1747U · no longer on the register · serial 20700347
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport pilot departed on a CFR Part 135 scheduled passenger flight to a remote coastal village. When the flight did not return, an aerial search was initiated. The wreckage was located the following day along the pilot's intended route, about 49 miles from the departure airport. The airplane had collided with flat, featureless, snow-covered, terrain. A pilot that departed about one minute after the accident airplane's departure, had a similar route of flight. He characterized the weather conditions along the accident airplane's route as overcast, with ceilings ranging between 2,500 and 4,500 feet. He said that as he approached the area of the accident, he encountered 'a wall of weather' starting from the ground, with tops at 1,500 feet. He added that visibility was low, with fog and varied layers of cloud cover. The pilot stated that he changed his route in order to avoid the worsening weather conditions. He added that with satisfactory weather conditions, and given the intended destination of the accident airplane, the standard route of flight would be directly over the location of the accident site. No preaccident anomalies were noted with the accident airplane.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,255 hours in all; 390 in this make and model; 301 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 2,150 as pilot in command; 737 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,363 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 13, 1999; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520F (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Grant Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BET AK at 4:36 pm
- Destination: IGT Nightmute AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from BET, 49 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N1747U the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.