Cessna 207A accident near Ambler, Alaska, December 11, 1987
On December 11, 1987 at about 1:00 am local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N9979M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ambler, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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
- December 11, 1987 · about 1:00 am local time
- Place
- Ambler, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N9979M · no longer on the register · serial 20700773
- 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 OF THE AIR TAXI CARGO FLT WAS OPERG AT NIGHT IN MARGINAL VFR CONDS WHEN THE ACFT STRUCK RISING TERRAIN. THE ACFT WAS FND THE NEXT DAY AT APRX 1000 AST, SOME 15 MI OFF THE INTENDED ROUTE. THE PLT WAS UNCONSCIOUS & SUFFERING FM HYPOTHERMIA & OTHER INJURIES. HE WAS TAKEN TO A HOSPITAL, BUT DIED LATER THAT DAY. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE ACFT STRUCK THE SOUTH SIDE OF BISMARK MTN AT APRX 2100' MSL WHILE IN LVL FLT. ANOTHER PLT, WHO WAS FLYING IN THE AREA ABOUT 2-1/2 HRS AFTER THE ACDNT, RPRTD THAT CLASSIC WHITE-OUT CONDS EXISTED WITH MOD SNOW FALL & ICE CRYSTALS RDCG FWD VIS TO LESS THAN 1/2 MI. THE PLT (OF N9979M) HAD BEEN RECENTLY HIRED BY BERING AIR & HAD ONLY ABOUT 23 HRS OF KNOWN FLT TIME IN THE GENERAL AREA. AT THE TIME OF EMPLOYMENT, HE INDCD HE HAD APRX 1536 HRS OF FLT TIME; HOWEVER, ONLY 446 HRS OF FLT TIME WAS VERIFIED BY HIS LOGBOOK & OTHER SOURCES. MIN FLT TIME TO ACT AS A PIC IN THE AIR TAXI OPN WAS 500 HRS.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 446 hours in all; 60 in this make and model; 85 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 265 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,343 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 22, 1987; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Bering Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: Z60 Kotzebue AK
- Destination: SHG Shungnak AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 10°F (-12°C), dew point 18°F (-8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.