Cessna U206G accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, February 9, 1989
On February 9, 1989 at about 1:05 pm local time, a Cessna U206G, registered N756EA, was destroyed in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
SEPARATION OF THE TORSIONAL VIBRATION DAMPERS FROM THE CRANKSHAFT BOSS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 9, 1989 · about 1:05 pm local time
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206G · all U206Gs on the register
- Registration
- N756EA · no longer on the register · serial U206044021
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING FLIGHT, THE PILOT REPORTED AN ENGINE FAILURE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE CRASHED AS IT WAS LANDED IN A STAND OF PINE TREES. AN EXAM OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT ONE OF THE REAR TORSION VIBRATION DAMPERS HAD SEPARATED FROM THE CRANKSHAFT BOSS. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THIS RESULTED IN MASSIVE INTERNAL ENGINE DAMAGE & A SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF POWER.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 193 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 2,150 as pilot in command; 350 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,830 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 1, 1988; 230 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Arctic Circle Air Service INC
The flight
- Departed from: FAI Fairbanks AK at 12:31 pm
- Destination: FYU Fort Yukon AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 90 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; not recorded at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.