Beech BE-99 accident near Fort Yukon, Alaska, January 13, 1989
On January 13, 1989 at about 9:12 pm local time, a Beech BE-99, registered CFBCH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fort Yukon, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). 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 SEPARATION OF A SINGLE PROPELLER BLADE WHICH CAUSED THE DOWNWARD AND REARWARD DISPLACEMENT OF THE NUMBER TWO ENGINE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 13, 1989 · about 9:12 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Yukon, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech BE-99
- Registration
- CFBCH · no longer on the register · serial U162
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CRUISE FLIGHT AT 8000 FEET ABOVE MEAN SEA LEVEL THE CO-PILOT NOTICED A 100 POUND TORQUE INCREASE ON THE NUMBER TWO ENGINE. DURING HIS ATTEMPT TO REDUCE THE TORQUE HE HEARD AN EXPLOSION, SAW SPARKS COME FROM THE NUMBER TWO ENGINE EXHAUST STACKS AND OBSERVED A SLOW TURNING PROPELLER AS THE ENTIRE ENGINE NACELLE DISAPPEARED BENEATH THE AIRPLANE. FULL POWER ON THE NUMBER ONE ENGINE ALLOWED THE CREW TO REDUCE THE RATE OF DESCENT TO 1,500 FOOT PER MINUTE AND THEY CRASH LANDED ON THE FROZEN RIVER. ON SITE EXAMINATION REVEALED ONE PROPELLER BLADE FROM THE NUMBER TWO ENGINE WAS MISSING AND THAT THE NUMBER TWO ENGINE HAD SEPARATED DURING THE IMPACT SEQUENCE. SUBSEQUENT METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION SHOWED A FATIGUE FRACTURE ON THE REMAINING STUB OF THE MISSING BLADE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,350 hours in all; 75 in the last 90 days; 4,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 20,967 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 10, 1988; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,500 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Inuvik at 7:47 pm
- Destination: FAI Fairbanks AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 030° at 3 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Observation at 8:50 pm from FYU, 17 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.