Cessna 206 accident near Cantwell, Alaska, April 19, 1988
On April 19, 1988 at about 2:45 am local time, a Cessna 206, registered N51205, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cantwell, Alaska (Private Airstrip airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 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 19, 1988 · about 2:45 am local time
- Place
- Cantwell, Alaska · Private Airstrip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N51205 · no longer on the register · serial U20601979
- 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 AIR-TAXI PILOT STATED THAT HE ATTEMPTED TO TAKEOFF FROM A PRIVATE, DIRT RUNWAY THAT WAS DRY IN THE MIDDLE AND MUDDY TOWARDS THE EDGES. DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT MAIN GEAR TIRE ENCOUNTERED THE SOFT, MUDDY AREA AND TURNED ABRUPTLY TOWARDS THE LEFT EDGE OF THE RUNWAY, COLLIDING WITH A LARGE SNOW BANK AND STOPPING THE AIRPLANE.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,833 hours in all; 569 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 4,752 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,916 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 11, 1988; 68 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: MRI Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0, 2,000 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 225° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 N51205 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.