Cessna 207 accident near Port Graham, Alaska, April 15, 1985
On April 15, 1985 at about 12:35 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N9970M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Port Graham, Alaska (Port Graham airport). 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 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
- April 15, 1985 · about 12:35 pm local time
- Place
- Port Graham, Alaska · Port Graham · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N9970M · no longer on the register · serial 20700769
- 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
THE PLT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL WHILE TAKING OFF FROM A RWY COVERED WITH 4 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW, ICE & SLUSH. THE ACFT THEN SWERVED SIDEWAYS, COLLIDED WITH A SNOW BANK & WAS DAMAGED. THE ARPT WAS LOCATED ON PUBLIC DOMAIN & WAS NOT REGULARILY ATTENDED OR MAINTAINED. ON THE MORNING OF THE MISHAP, SNOW FELL & THERE WAS A LIGHT DUSTING OF FRESH SNOW COVERING THE SLUSH ICE & WATER PUDDLES. ALSO, THERE WAS A SEVERE DIP IN THE INITIAL PART OF RWY 12.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 14,900 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 14,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 690 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Cook Inlet Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Destination: HOM Homer AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12, 2,245 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; scat at 1,200 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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 N9970M 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.