Cessna 207 accident near Kotzebue, Alaska, December 21, 1988
On December 21, 1988 at about 3:05 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N9948M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kotzebue, Alaska (Wien Memorial airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 21, 1988 · about 3:05 pm local time · cases in 1988
- Place
- Kotzebue, Alaska · Wien Memorial · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N9948M · registry record · serial 207A00759
- 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 HAD ENCOUNTERED FREEZING DRIZZLE AND OTHER ICING CONDITIONS PRIOR TO LANDING, ACCUMULATING APPROXIMATELY 3/8' OF ICE ON THE AIRPLANE. HE SAID THAT AS HE BEGAN HIS LANDING FLARE, THE AIRPLANE STALLED, AND HE WAS UNABLE TO RECOVER CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE PRIOR TO STRIKING THE RUNWAY WITH THE RIGHT WING. HE STATED THAT THE ACCIDENT MIGHT HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF HE HAD APPROACHED THE LANDING WITH GREATER CONCERN FOR THE ICE ON THE AIRPLANE, I.E., ADDITIONAL AIRSPEED AND A LOWER FLAP SETTING.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,707 hours in all; 83 in this make and model; 259 in the last 90 days; 88 in the last 30 days; 1,575 as pilot in command; 901 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,641 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 5, 1988; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Baker Aviation INC.
The flight
- Departed from: ORV Noorvik AK at 2:19 pm
- Runway 8, 5,900 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 18°F (-8°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 pm from OTZ, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N9948M on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 207 Skywagon 207 115 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520F 80 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Ralph Wien Memorial · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 825 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,142 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC89LA025.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.