Beech C99 accident near Nuiqsut, Alaska, August 9, 1992
On August 9, 1992 at about 1:30 am local time, a Beech C99, registered N216CS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nuiqsut, Alaska (Nuiqsut airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S IMPROPER INFLIGHT PLANNING/PREPARATION, AND HIS FAILURE TO ATTAIN THE PROPER TOUCHDOWN POINT. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE DOWNDRAFT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 9, 1992 · about 1:30 am local time · cases in 1992
- Place
- Nuiqsut, Alaska · Nuiqsut · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech C99 · all C99s on the register
- Registration
- N216CS · registry record · serial U-216
- 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
BOTH PILOTS REPORTED THAT THEY ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT DURING THE FINAL APPROACH WHICH CAUSED THE AIRPLANE TO DEVELOP A HIGHER THAN DESIRED SINK RATE. THE APPLICATION OF POWER FAILED TO ARREST THE SINK RATE BEFORE THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN APPROXIMATELY ONE FOOT SHORT OF THE RUNWAY. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO A STOP ABOUT 1,000 FEET DOWN THE RUNWAY, WITH ALL THREE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. THE PILOT SAID THAT HE HAD ENCOUNTERED LIGHT TO MODERATE TURBULENCE DURING THE APPROACH, AND HE WAS 'SHOOTING FOR THE END OF THE RUNWAY'.
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, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,970 hours in all; 370 in this make and model; 385 in the last 90 days; 130 in the last 30 days; 5,995 as pilot in command; 842 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,953 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, July 15, 1992; 71 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,300 lb
- Seats: 17
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-36 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Cape Smythe Air Services, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BRW Barrow AK at 7:49 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 22, 4,600 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 8:51 pm from 10AK, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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 N216CS the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N216CS on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Beechcraft C-99 54 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Beechcraft 6 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W PT6A-36 2,218 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Hunt Strip · nearest airport
- Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N216CS 2 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC92LA123.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.