Cessna P206 accident near Nome, Alaska, August 5, 1996
On August 5, 1996 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna P206, registered CFRVD, was destroyed in an accident near Nome, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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 terrain clearance. Factors include mountainous terrain, low ceilings and mountain obscuration.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 5, 1996 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Nome, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna P206 · all P206s on the register
- Registration
- CFRVD · no longer on the register · serial P2060010
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot, who was providing volunteer pilot services, was familiar with terrain and meteorological conditions in the geographic vicinity of the accident. He fueled the aircraft the evening before the flight, received a weather briefing, filed a flight plan, and departed for his destination. The aircraft collided with terrain about 28 miles north of the departure point. According to search and rescue personnel, the weather in the area at the time of the search was marginal, with mountain obscuration, and low ceilings and reduced visibility.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 7,134 hours in all; 51 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,080 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 11, 1996; 94 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OME at 10:38 am
- Destination: SHH Shishmaref AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,400 ft; scat at 900 ft
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:50 am from OME, 28 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.