Cessna U206G accident near Kotzebue, Alaska, April 2, 1992
On April 2, 1992 at about 2:15 pm local time, a Cessna U206G, registered N9909Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kotzebue, Alaska (Kotzebue airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO REMOVE ALL THE FROST FROM THE AIRPLANE AND EXCEEDING THE GROSS WEIGHT LIMIT OF THE AIRPLANE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 2, 1992 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Kotzebue, Alaska · Kotzebue · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206G · all U206Gs on the register
- Registration
- N9909Z · registry record · serial U20606740
- 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
DURING THE TAKEOFF THE AIRPLANE PITCHED UP AND THE WINGS ROCKED FROM SIDE TO SIDE AND THEN THE AIRPLANE SETTLED AND CRASHED INTO THE SNOWBANK AND NOSED OVER. THE PILOT STATED THERE WAS FROST ON THE WINGS BUT HE BRUSHED IT OFF. EXAMINATION OF THE WING'S UPPER SURFACE REVEALED THAT FROST REMAINED ON THE UPPER SURFACE. EXAMINATION OF THE CARGO, AIRPLANE, AND FUEL INFORMATION SHOWED THAT THE AIRPLANE WEIGHED 3700 POUNDS. THE CERTIFICATED GROSS WEIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE WAS 3600 POUNDS.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,800 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 208 in the last 90 days; 13 in the last 30 days; 4,600 as pilot in command; 2,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,336 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 28, 1992; 32 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Bering Air, INC.
The flight
- Destination: PHO Point Hope AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 8, 5,900 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: -9°F (-23°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:22 pm from OTZ, 1 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N9909Z the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC92LA057.