Cessna 206 accident near Homer, Alaska, March 29, 1991
On March 29, 1991 at about 9:54 pm local time, a Cessna 206, registered N6216U, was destroyed in an accident near Homer, Alaska (Homer airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE, WHILE MANEUVERING OVER WATER. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE SNOW SHOWER AND PROBABLE WHITEOUT CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 29, 1991 · about 9:54 pm local time · cases in 1991
- Place
- Homer, Alaska · Homer · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N6216U · registry record · serial U20605390
- 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
THE PLT TOOK OFF APRX 15 MI NORTHEAST OF THE HOMER ARPT. AFTER TAKEOFF, HE CONTACTED THE HOMER TOWER & INQUIRED ABOUT THE WX AT HOMER. HE WAS ADVISED THAT VFR CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE ARPT, BUT THAT THERE WAS SNOW SHOWERS OF UNKNOWN INTENSITY & RESTRICTED VISIBILITY NORTH & EAST OF THE ARPT. THE PLT ELECTED TO MAKE A STRAIGHT-IN APCH TO RWY 21. WHILE INBOUND, HE DISCUSSED HIS RELATIVE POSITION WITH THE PLT OF ANOTHER ACFT, WHO WAS APCHG TO LAND ON RWY 3 AT HOMER. THE PLT (OF N6216U) RPRTD TURNING BACK OUTBOUND (AS IF TO AVOID A TRAFFIC CONFLICT). SOON THEREAFTER, AN ELT SIGNAL WAS TRANSMITTED. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ACFT CRASHED IN A TIDAL BASIN. WRECKAGE WAS FOUND IN SHALLOW WATER OVER AN AREA OF ABOUT 1/2 MI LONG BY 200 FT WIDE. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND DURING THE INVESTIGATION.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,499 hours in all; 1,725 in this make and model; 214 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 4,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,403 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 21, 1991; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Bradley Lake AK at 9:45 pm
- Runway 21, 7,401 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 5 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:00 pm from HOM, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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
- N6216U on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 206 Stationair 213 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,685 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520 9,485 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Homer Airport · 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/ANC91FA042.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.