Cessna 207 accident near Kenai, Alaska, October 16, 1993
On October 16, 1993 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N208SC, was destroyed in an accident near Kenai, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE ALTITUDE FOR TERRAIN CLEARANCE. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE PILOT'S LACK OF USUAL SLEEP, THE NIGHT LIGHT CONDITION AND HILLY TERRAIN.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 16, 1993 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kenai, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N208SC · no longer on the register · serial 2070045
- 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 PILOT REPORTEDLY FLEW A ROUTE ALONG THE POWER LINES BETWEEN KENAI AND HOMER. THE FLIGHT TOOK PLACE ON A DARK MOONLESS NIGHT OVER RISING TERRAIN. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS LOCATED 200 YARDS EAST OF THE POWER LINES. RADAR DATA SHOWS THE AIRPLANE IN THE AREA OF THE CRASH SITE AT A STEADY STATE HEADING, AIRSPEED, AND LEVEL ALTITUDE. THIS FLIGHT MARKED THE FIRST TIME THAT THE PILOT DID NOT COMPLETE A COMPANY FLIGHT PLAN. ON HIS OFF DAYS, THE PILOT GOT 9-11 HRS OF SLEEP. HIS WIFE SAID HE WAS NOT A MORNING PERSON. THE PILOT HAD COMMENTED TO HER THAT WHEN AWAY FROM HOME, THE QUALITY OF HIS SLEEP WAS POOR. ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT, THE PILOT WAS AWAKE AT 0340 FOR THE 0500 DEPARTURE; HE HAD ABOUT 6 HRS OF SLEEP.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,487 hours in all; 175 in this make and model; 277 in the last 90 days; 92 in the last 30 days; 1,417 as pilot in command; 400 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,067 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 6, 1993; 38 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-DCF (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: HOM Homer AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,800 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 am from ENA, 34 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.
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.