Cessna 207A accident near Nuiqsut, Alaska, January 4, 1985
On January 4, 1985 at about 8:05 pm local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N9237M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nuiqsut, Alaska (Nuiqsut airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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).
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
- January 4, 1985 · about 8:05 pm local time
- Place
- Nuiqsut, Alaska · Nuiqsut · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N9237M · no longer on the register · serial 20700678
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER A NIGHT LANDING BY THE COPILOT, AND AFTER THE FIRST BOUNCE, THE PILOT IN COMMAND TOOK CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AFTER IT DEVELOPED A HIGH SINK RATE. THE PILOT THEN GROUND LOOPED THE AIRCRAFT.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,923 hours in all; 540 in this make and model; 460 in the last 90 days; 1,813 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,486 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 31, 1984
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Cape Smythe Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: SCC Deadhorse AK at 7:30 pm
- Destination: 10AK Nuiqsut AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 22, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; not recorded at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 10°F (-12°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 N9237M 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.