Cessna 207A accident near Aniak, Alaska, August 10, 2000
On August 10, 2000 at about 3:30 am local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N1824Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Aniak, Alaska (Cinnabar Strip airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 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 recovery from a bounced landing. Factors in the accident were the pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation, insufficient information about the landing strip from company personnel, inadequate oversight of the flight by company personnel, and high vegetation at the landing strip.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 10, 2000 · about 3:30 am local time
- Place
- Aniak, Alaska · Cinnabar Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N1824Q · no longer on the register · serial 20700788
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The station manager of an air taxi company, arranged a personal hunting trip for himself and friends, utilizing a company airplane. The station manager stated he was personally paying for the flight, and was sharing other camping expenses with the hunting party. A company airline transport certificated pilot, with an adult and two teen-aged passengers, departed for a remote airstrip on the first of two planned flights. The station manager said he was maintaining VFR company flight following procedures. The pilot was to return and pick up the station manager, and the father of the teens, after the first flight. When the airplane did not return, the station manager said he did not become concerned, thinking the pilot was waiting for marginal weather conditions to improve. No radio contact was received from the airplane, and no emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal was received from the airplane. When the airplane did not return by the afternoon of the following day, the flight was reported overdue by the teens' father. Search personnel then began receiving an ELT signal in the area of the airstrip. Search aircraft located the airplane at the airstrip on the evening of the second day. The pilot reported that he was asked by the company station manager to fly the passengers to the airstrip. He had not flown to the airstrip before, but was told by the manager that the airstrip was 'better than most.' The pilot said he landed toward the west on the dirt airstrip that is about 1,400 feet long, and about 20 feet wide. During the landing roll, the right wing struck high vegetation along the right side of the strip, and the airplane veered off the right side into tall brush. The nose wheel landing gear strut was sheared off, and the propeller struck the ground. The pilot, who holds a mechanic certificate with airframe and powerplant ratings, said the right wing received minor leading edge denting, and no structural damage occurred to the airframe at the nose wheel strut attach point. The adult passenger reported that the airplane bounced hard during the landing flare, and rebounded into the air for about 170 feet. The airplane drifted to the right, and touched down with the right main landing gear, and the right wing hitting alder bushes along the right side of the strip. About 250 feet after first contacting the alders, the airplane suddenly veered to the right, off the airstrip, and the nose wheel strut separated. After the accident, the airplane was recovered and repaired. Over eight feet of the right wing's leading edge was replaced.
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, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 3,000 as pilot in command; 1,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PABE Bethel AK at 9:10 pm
- Destination: Cinnabar Strip AK
- Runway 27, 1,400 ft by 20 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 225° at 5 knots, gusting 10
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.
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.