Cessna 206 accident near Viekoda Bay, Alaska, August 23, 1984
On August 23, 1984 at about 4:40 am local time, a Cessna 206, registered N4877Y, was destroyed in an accident near Viekoda Bay, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 23, 1984 · about 4:40 am local time
- Place
- Viekoda Bay, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N4877Y · no longer on the register · serial U20605561
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
BEFORE TAKING OFF, THE PLT HAD BECOME PREOCCUPIED WITH PUMPING WATER FROM THE FLOATS & ALLOWED THE ACFT TO DRIFT DOWNWIND FROM A FISHING VESSEL. HE THEN ELECTED TO TAKEOFF INTO THE WIND WHICH WAS ALSO DIRECTLY TOWARD THE SUN. AFTER MAKING A NORMAL ROUGH WATER TAKEOFF, THE ACFT HAD CLIMBED TO ABOUT 30 FT AGL WHEN THE PLT SAW THE SILOUETTE OF THE FISHING VESSEL'S RIGGING IN THE SUN GLARE. HE TRIED TO AVOID A COLLISION, BUT WAS UNABLE. THE ACFT HIT A MAST ON THE VESSEL, THEN CRASHED IN THE BAY.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,490 hours in all; 1,438 in this make and model; 225 in the last 90 days; 150 in the last 30 days; 3,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: None (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,255 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 16, 1984; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: ADQ Kodiak AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 20 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.