Amateur-built SUPER ACRO ZENITH CH incident near Fairbanks, Alaska, May 2, 1996
On May 2, 1996 at about 1:57 am local time, a amateur-built SUPER ACRO ZENITH CH, registered N200BV, was involved in an incident near Fairbanks, Alaska (Fairbanks International airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's improper understanding of his amended clearance, and the local controller's failure to assure that the pilot understood that he was cleared only to land. Factors in the incident were: the airport design that places two airplanes in close proximity to each other, and the FAA's insufficient standards for simultaneous operations to runways not laterally displaced from one another.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 2, 1996 · about 1:57 am local time
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska · Fairbanks International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SUPER ACRO ZENITH CH SUPER ACRO
- Registration
- N200BV · no longer on the register · serial 1941
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the Zenith, N200BV, had been cleared to conduct touch-and-go landings to hard surface runway 19L. Two minutes later, the pilot of a Cessna 185, N1074F, was cleared to land on gravel runway 19 that is oriented on the same magnetic heading as the hard surface runway but is displaced about 650 feet south of the end of the hard surface runway. There is no lateral displacement between the two runways. One minute later, the controller cleared the pilot of the Zenith to land, and advised '...I'll call the departure.' The controller did not receive a verbal response, only a garbled radio transmission. The pilot of the Zenith performed a touch-and-go and emerged under the second airplane that was in the landing approach to the gravel runway. The FAA's handbook for air traffic conrollers does not contain procedures for simultaneous operations on runways that are oriented on the same heading and not laterally parallel to each other.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 82 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 20 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 80 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 5, 1995; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19L, 3,190 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 14°F (-10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:57 pm from FAI
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.