Cessna 208B accident near Bethel, Alaska, December 6, 1999
On December 6, 1999 at about 1:58 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N5187B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Alaska (Bethel airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight and his failure to remove snow and airframe ice from the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 6, 1999 · about 1:58 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · Bethel
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N5187B · registry record · serial 208B0270
- Damage
- Substantial 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 pilot, with one, pilot-rated passenger aboard, was departing runway 36 on a scheduled commuter flight. The pilot said that about 100 feet above the runway, he retracted 10 degrees of flaps. He added that as the airplane climbed to about 200 feet above the runway, he retracted the remaining 10 degrees of flaps, and the airplane descended while rolling to the left. The pilot stated that he had to apply full right aileron to keep the airplane upright. He said full power was already applied to the engine, but the airplane continued to descend. The airplane landed on the runway, about 200 feet from the runway threshold, and continued off the end of the runway, into snow-covered terrain. The pilot stated that during his preflight inspection, he removed an accumulation of ice and snow from the wings and empennage. Due to scheduling delays, the flight did not depart until about 2 hours after the initial preflight. The pilot said that prior to departure, he did not recheck for any additional frost accumulation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the propeller, fuselage, and wings.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,375 hours in all; 750 in this make and model; 288 in the last 90 days; 98 in the last 30 days; 4,225 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,105 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 22, 1999; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BET AK at 1:58 pm
- Destination: MLL Marshall AK
- Runway 36, 6,398 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 280° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: -11°F (-24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from PAB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N5187B 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.