Cessna 207 accident near Kotzebue, Alaska, September 2, 2005
On September 2, 2005 at about 8:24 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N9964M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kotzebue, Alaska (Kotzebue airport). It was flown 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the nose gear steering mechanism during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent encounter with the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 2005 · about 8:24 pm local time
- Place
- Kotzebue, Alaska · Kotzebue · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N9964M · registry record · serial 20700766
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airline transport certificated pilot was landing a wheel-equipped airplane on a hard surface runway at the conclusion of a commuter air taxi flight. As the pilot lowered the nose wheel to the runway surface, the airplane veered to the left, and the right wingtip and propeller contacted the runway. The operator's director of maintenance reported that the airplane's right wing received structural damage to wing ribs and leading edge. He also indicated that the nose gear steering link, located between the nose gear steering shaft and the nose gear steering collar, was fractured, and the attaching tab on the steering collar was also broken. He said that the mechanism for the fracture of the steering collar tab and the steering link was not determined. The steering link was not found.
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
What happened, in order
- AIRFRAME/COMPONENT/SYSTEM FAILURE/MALFUNCTION during landing - roll
- LOSS OF CONTROL - ON GROUND/WATER during landing - roll
- ON GROUND/WATER ENCOUNTER WITH TERRAIN/WATER during landing - roll
Pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea, none, APLN, none
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: April 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: class 1
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,239 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: D76 Noorvik AK at 3:10 pm
- Destination: PAOT Kotzebue AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 26, 5,900 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 18 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,700 ft; a few clouds at 300 ft
- Temperature: 46°C, dew point 46°C
- Altimeter: 29.65 inHg
- Observation at 3:28 pm from PAOT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Other NTSB records under N9964M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC05LA136.