Cessna 207A accident near Kenai, Alaska, January 14, 1987
On January 14, 1987 at about 5:15 pm local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N9395M, was destroyed in an accident near Kenai, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed, 4 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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 14, 1987 · about 5:15 pm local time
- Place
- Kenai, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed, 4 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N9395M · no longer on the register · serial 20700685
- 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
WX CONDS ON THE DAY OF THE ACDNT WERE RPRTD TO BE EXTREMELY VARIABLE. INITIALLY, WHEN THE PLT OBTAINED A WX BRIEFING, VFR FLT WAS NOT RCMDD. LATER, THE WX IMPROVED & THE PLT ELECTED TO PROCEED ON THE FLT. WHILE EN ROUTE, HE ENCTRD SNOW SHOWERS & DSCNDD TO 500' AGL TO INSURE BEST VISIBILITY. THE PLT STATED THAT WITHOUT WARNING, HE ENCTRD A SNOW SQUALL & WHITE-OUT CONDS WHILE HE WAS FLYING OVER A RIDGE IMMEDIATELY WEST OF THE KUSTATAN RIVER. HE ATTEMPTED A 180 TURN, BUT THE ACFT CRASHED ON SNOW COVERED TERRAIN. ONE OCCUPANT, AN INFANT, DIED FROM IMPACT INJURIES. THE SURVIVORS WERE LOCATEDABOUT 21 HRS AFTER THE ACDNT. THE ELT SW WAS FND IN THE 'OFF' PSN; NO ELT SIGNAL WAS HEARD BY OTHER PLTS. ANOTHER PLT WHO ENCTRD WX AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME & PLACE DIVERTED TO ANOTHER ARPT.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,443 hours in all; 61 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days; 1,299 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,470 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 13, 1986; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK at 4:28 pm
- Destination: 5NN Nondalton AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: broken clouds at 400 ft
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 1:04 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 4 | 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.