Cessna 207 accident near Kongiganak, Alaska, September 6, 2000
On September 6, 2000 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N9874M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kongiganak, Alaska (Kongiganak 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
The pilot's selection of an unsuitable, rough, runway. Factors were the crosswind, the pilot's inexperience, the company's inadequate surveillance of their operation, and dispatch of an inexperienced pilot to the unsuitable airport.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 2000 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kongiganak, Alaska · Kongiganak · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N9874M · no longer on the register · serial 20700745
- 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 pilot, and a witness, estimated the winds to be from 270 degrees, gusting to 25 knots. After touchdown, the airplane hit a rut, bounced, and became airborne. The right wing came up, and the airplane departed the left side of the 1,880 feet long by 35 feet wide gravel runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot, the witness, and company personnel, described the runway condition as extremely potholed and unsuitable. The Alaska Supplement states, in part: 'CAUTION: Rwy condition not monitored, recommend visual inspection prior to using. Rwy rough full length.' The company was concerned about the runway, but had not inspected it prior to the accident. The company terminated operations to the airport after the accident. This was the pilot's first revenue flight in Alaska, and for the company, and his first flight to this airport.
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: 517 hours in all; 17 in this make and model; 56 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 439 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,225 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 5, 2000; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethel AK at 2:00 pm
- Destination: DUY
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 18, 1,880 ft by 35 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,600 ft; scat at 1,400 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from BET, 14 miles away
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 N9874M 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.