Cessna U206E accident near Harding Glacier, Alaska, September 6, 1987
On September 6, 1987 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Cessna U206E, registered N9407G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Harding Glacier, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- September 6, 1987 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Harding Glacier, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206E · all U206Es on the register
- Registration
- N9407G · no longer on the register · serial U20601607
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PRIVATE PILOT AND HIS NON-PILOT ADULT MALE PASSENGER WERE FLYING FROM MODESTO, CA, TO SOLDOTNA, AK, FOR A HUNTING TRIP. THE PILOT, WHO HAD APPROXIMATELY 164 HOURS TOTAL FLIGHT TIME AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, AND WHO HAD NO PRIOR FLYING EXPERIENCE IN ALASKA, WAS ATTEMPTING TO FLY OVER A MOUNTAIN RANGE IN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS WHEN THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A MOUNTAIN GLACIER AT THE 5600' LEVEL. WEATHER CONDITIONS AT THE TIME WERE REPORTEDLY LESS THAN VFR, WITH MODERATE TO SEVERE TURBULENCE, RAIN, AND CLOUDS OBSCURING THE MOUNTAINS. THE PILOT'S FORMER FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR HAD REPORTEDLY ADVISED HIM NOT TO UNDERTAKE THE FLIGHT DUE TO HIS LACK OF EXPERIENCE AND THE POTENTIALLY SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS IN ALASKA.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 164 hours in all; 81 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 114 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,250 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 13, 1987; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: YAK Yakutat AK at 1:13 pm
- Destination: SXO Soldotna AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 1:54 pm from SWT, 8 miles away
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.