Amateur-built SC7 accident near Nightmute, Alaska, October 21, 1986
On October 21, 1986 at about 10:30 pm local time, a amateur-built SC7, registered N406TH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nightmute, Alaska (Nightmute 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
- October 21, 1986 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Nightmute, Alaska · Nightmute · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SC7
- Registration
- N406TH · no longer on the register · serial 1862
- 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
ACCORDING TO THE PLT-IN-COMMAND (PIC), WHEN THE ACFT WAS ON FINAL APCH TO THE 1600 FT RWY, IT ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT HIT HARD ON THE LIP OF THE RWY, THEN BOUNCED & TOUCHED DOWN ON THE RWY. AFTER THE 2ND TOUCHDOWN, THE ACFT VEERED TO THE RIGHT, EXITED THE RWY & CONTD ONTO OPEN TUNDRA. THE ACFT'S RIGHT MAIN GEAR, RIGHT WING, RIGHT PROP & NOSE GEAR WERE DAMAGED DRG THE SEQUENCE.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,590 hours in all; 152 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 140 in the last 30 days; 2,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,107 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 8, 1986; 33 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331-F (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethal AK at 5:02 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 2, 1,600 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 90 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.