Cessna U206G accident near Nunapitchuk, Alaska, December 16, 2004
On December 16, 2004 at about 3:15 pm local time, a Cessna U206G, registered N496K, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nunapitchuk, Alaska (Nunapitchuk airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 inadequate compensation for gusty wind conditions, which resulted in a loss of directional control, and collision with a ditch. Factors contributing to the accident were an icy taxiway and wind gusts.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 16, 2004 · about 3:15 pm local time
- Place
- Nunapitchuk, Alaska · Nunapitchuk · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206G · all U206Gs on the register
- Registration
- N496K · no longer on the register · serial U20603953
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport pilot was taxiing the airplane for takeoff on an icy taxiway in gusty wind conditions. He said a gust of wind pushed the airplane off the side of the icy taxiway, where it encountered a ditch and nosed over.
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: 3,500 hours in all; 1,900 in this make and model; 187 in the last 90 days; 63 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Katmai Air Leasing LLC
The flight
- Departed from: 16A Nunapitchuk AK
- Destination: BET Bethel AK
- Runway 36
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 320° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°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.
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.