Cessna T207A accident near Bethel, Alaska, December 24, 1999
On December 24, 1999 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Cessna T207A, registered N1864, 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). 1 person had minor injuries; 5 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to remove frost from the airplane prior to flight, and an inadvertent stall/mush.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 24, 1999 · about 2:45 pm local time · cases in 1999
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · Bethel · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 5 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna T207A · all T207As on the register
- Registration
- N1864 · registry record · serial 20700526
- 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 commercial pilot, with five passengers aboard, was departing runway 18 on a scheduled commuter flight. The pilot stated that the flight's original departure time was delayed for two hours due to ice fog, and low visibility. He said that just after takeoff, the engine surged followed by a loss of power. The airplane collided with snow-covered terrain during an off-airport emergency landing, and sustained substantial damage to the propeller, fuselage, and wings. Following retrieval of the airplane, an FAA airworthiness inspector examined the airplane, and found no mechanical anomalies. While still attached to the airplane, the engine was started and run at idle. The engine later produced full power on an engine test stand. A pilot-rated Alaska State Trooper, with extensive experience in the accident airplane make and model, examined the airplane soon after the accident. He said the wings, horizontal stabilizer, and elevators had an accumulation of frost.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,507 hours in all; 1,080 in this make and model; 232 in the last 90 days; 59 in the last 30 days; 2,395 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,809 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 22, 1999; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: CFK Chefornak AK
- Runway 18, 6,398 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 100 ft
- Temperature: -24°F (-31°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from PAB
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 N1864 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N1864 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna T207 65 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F 80 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Bethel Airport · nearest airport
- Chefornak Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N1864 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC00LA021.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.