Cessna 208 accident near Craig, Alaska, January 2, 1995
On January 2, 1995 at about 2:35 pm local time, a Cessna 208, registered N242SS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Craig, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S SELECTION OF AN UNSUITABLE LANDING AREA. FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCIDENT WERE THE SUN GLARE, THE PARTIALLY SUBMERGED LOG, AND THE SHALLOW FOG LAYER ON THE SURFACE OF THE WATER (LANDING SURFACE).
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 2, 1995 · about 2:35 pm local time
- Place
- Craig, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208 · all 208s on the register
- Registration
- N242SS · no longer on the register · serial 00096
- 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
THE FLOAT EQUIPPED AIRPLANE STRUCK A PARTIALLY SUBMERGED LOG DURING A SALT WATER LANDING. THE PILOT REPORTED HE LOOKED AT THE LANDING SITE PRIOR TO LANDING, BUT HIS VISION WAS RESTRICTED BY SUN GLARE AND A THIN LAYER OF FOG SITTING ON THE WATER'S SURFACE. SHORTLY AFTER THE PILOT REDUCED POWER TO SLOW THE AIRPLANE'S TAXI SPEED, THE RIGHT FLOAT STRUCK A LOG. THE AIRPLANE VEERED SHARPLY TO THE RIGHT, AND THE LEFT FLOAT STRUT SUBSEQUENTLY COLLAPSED, ALLOWING THE LEFT WING TO STRIKE THE WATER.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,331 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 68 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 4,282 as pilot in command; 1,247 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,982 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 22, 1994; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,210 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 5KE Ketchikan AK at 1:55 pm
- Destination: CGA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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.