Cessna 207A accident near Bethel, Alaska, March 20, 1995
On March 20, 1995 at about 3:55 pm local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N1719U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Alaska (Bethel 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO IMC CONDITIONS AND A FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS 'WHITEOUT' WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 20, 1995 · about 3:55 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · Bethel
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N1719U · no longer on the register · serial 20700319
- 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
AFTER RECEIVING A SPECIAL VFR (SVFR) CLEARANCE, THE PILOT DEPARTED THE AIRPORT WITH A PASSENGER ON A SCHEDULED COMMUTER FLIGHT TO A REMOTE AIRPORT. ABOUT 14 MILES NORTH OF THE AIRPORT, AT 1,000 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL), THE PILOT ENCOUNTERED WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AND REVERSED COURSE, DESCENDING TO ABOUT 500 FEET MSL. THE PILOT REQUESTED A SVFR ARRIVAL BACK TO THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT AND BEGAN MANEUVERING TO INTERCEPT THE INBOUND COURSE. WHILE IN INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED AND COLLIDED WITH FLAT, SNOW COVERED TERRAIN ABOUT 5 MILE NORTH OF THE AIRPORT. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO DISTINGUISH ANY TERRAIN FEATURES UNTIL IMPACT WITH THE GROUND.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: gyroplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,434 hours in all; 158 in this make and model; 92 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 1,245 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,868 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 12, 1995; 78 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: KLG Kalskag AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 5°F (-15°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:51 pm from BET, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.