Cessna 207A incident near Deadhorse, Alaska, July 5, 2000
On July 5, 2000 at about 3:10 am local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N73100, suffered minor damage in an incident near Deadhorse, Alaska (Deadhorse airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in-flight fracture of the engine crankshaft propeller flange. A factor associated with the accident was the manufacturer's inadequate quality control standards.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 5, 2000 · about 3:10 am local time
- Place
- Deadhorse, Alaska · Deadhorse · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N73100 · registry record · serial 20700559
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated airline transport reported that about 10 minutes after departure, while in cruise, level flight, he noted a light sheen of oil forming on the windshield, and he elected to return to his departure airport. He noted that by the time he was within two miles of the airport he was having difficulty seeing though the windshield due to a heavy accumulation of oil. He said that while on approach to the airport, the propeller rpm increased for about 20 seconds, followed by the propeller detaching from the engine. He said that he was able to glide the airplane to the runway, and land without further incident. A postincident investigation revealed that the engine had been rebuilt/zero-timed by Teledyne Continental Motors, 9.0 hours of operation, and 3 days before the incident. A Safety Board metallurgist examined the fractured crankshaft flange, and reported that his initial visual examination revealed that about one-half of the fracture was on a flat plane and contained crack arrest positions, features indicative of fatigue cracking. He added that the primary fatigue initiation appeared to be from a very large number of individual initiation sites in the center of the fatigue region.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 17,814 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 29, 2000; 9 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SCC Deadhorse AK at 11:00 pm
- Destination: 10AK Nuiqsut AK
- Runway 4, 6,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 N73100 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.