Cessna 207 accident near Mcgrath, Alaska, August 14, 2011
On August 14, 2011 at about 3:40 am local time, a Cessna 207, registered N91099, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Mcgrath, Alaska. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed and 4 people were seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's decision to continue visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in an in-flight collision with mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 14, 2011 · about 3:40 am local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed and 4 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N91099 · registry record · serial 20700073
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial pilot departed with five passengers on an on-demand air taxi flight between two remote Alaskan villages separated by mountainous terrain. When the airplane did not reach its destination, the operator reported the airplane overdue. After an extensive search, the airplane's wreckage was discovered in an area of steep, tree-covered terrain, about 1,720 feet msl, along the pilot's anticipated flight path. The flight was conducted under visual flight rules, but weather conditions in the area were reported as low ceilings and reduced visibility due to rain, fog, and mist. There is no record that the pilot obtained a weather briefing before departing. According to a passenger who was seated in the front, right seat, next to the pilot, about 20 minutes after departure, as the flight progressed into mountainous terrain, low clouds, rain and fog restricted the visibility. At one point, the pilot told the passenger, in part: "This is getting pretty bad." The pilot then descended and flew the airplane very close to the ground, then climbed the airplane, and then descended again. Moments later, the airplane entered "whiteout conditions," according to the passenger. The next thing the passenger recalled was looking out the front windscreen and, just before impact, seeing the mountainside suddenly appear out of the fog. A postaccident examination did not reveal any evidence of a mechanical malfunction. A weather study identified instrument meteorological conditions in the area at the time of the accident. Given the lack of mechanical deficiencies with the airplane and the passenger's account of the accident, it is likely that the pilot flew into instrument meteorological conditions while en route to his destination, and subsequently collided with mountainous terrain.
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
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Loss of visual reference during enroute (cruise)
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during enroute (cruise)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Low visibility › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 25,000 hours in all; 10,000 in this make and model; 60 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 25,000 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 5, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 31,618 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 18, 2011; 20 hours since
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cont Motor IO 520 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Inland Aviation Services
The flight
- Departed from: Mcgrath AK at 10:15 pm
- Destination: PANV Anvik AK
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,600 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 10:55 pm from PATL, 28 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 4 |
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 N91099 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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 ANC11FA077.