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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 9, 1992 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Nuiqsut, Alaska · Nuiqsut · 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
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.