Cessna 207A incident near Cape Simpson, Alaska, May 13, 1985
On May 13, 1985 at about 8:00 pm local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N9943M, suffered minor damage in an incident near Cape Simpson, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. 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 incident. 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
- May 13, 1985 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Cape Simpson, Alaska
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N9943M · registry record · serial 20700757
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
# 6 CYL EXPLODED IN FLT DUE TO CONNECTING ROD COMING APART. POST-ACCIDENT INSP REVEALED THAT NUT HAD BACK OFF DUE TO INADEQUATE TORQUE & NO COTTER KEY INSTALLED IN NUT.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,800 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 2,400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,858 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1985; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Barrow Air
The flight
- Departed from: BRW Barrow AK at 2:30 pm
- Destination: 10AK Nuiqsut AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 10°F (-12°C), dew point 3°F (-16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from BRW, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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 N9943M the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.