Cessna 207A accident near Nondalton, Alaska, January 12, 1990
On January 12, 1990 at about 3:15 pm local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N9720M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nondalton, Alaska (Nondalton 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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION BY THE PILOT. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: INADEQUATE POSITIONING OF THE TEMPORARY RUNWAY MARKERS, SNOW COVERED RUNWAY/TERRAIN CONDITIONS, PARTIAL WHITEOUT CONDITION, AND THE SNOW BERMS AT THE EDGES OF THE RUNWAY.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 12, 1990 · about 3:15 pm local time
- Place
- Nondalton, Alaska · Nondalton · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N9720M · registry record · serial 20700720
- 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
OPER PSNL RPRTD THAT DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL, THE PLT ENCTRD PARTIAL WHITEOUT CONDITIONS & HAD DIFFICULTY DEFINING THE EDGE OF THE RWY FROM ADJACENT SNOW BERMS. HE ABORTED THE TAKEOFF, BUT THE ACFT ENCTRD A SNOW BERM ON THE LEFT. IT THEN VEERED FURTHER LEFT & WAS DAMAGED. ORANGE MARKERS HAD BEEN PLACED AT THE RWY EDGES, BUT THEY WERE LOCATED ALONG THE OUTSIDE EDGES OF THE BERMS & WERE NOT CLEARLY VISIBLE TO THE PLT.
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; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,069 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 151 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 12,734 as pilot in command; 304 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,637 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 14, 1989; 85 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F13 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 20, 2,700 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
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.