Cessna 206 incident near Kodiak, Alaska, June 1, 1996
On June 1, 1996 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Cessna 206, registered N9608G, suffered minor damage in an incident near Kodiak, Alaska. It was a positioning 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 selection of unsuitable terrain for landing. Factors in the accident were: soft terrain, the use of an oversize nose wheel tire, and the FAA's inadequate field approval process for tundra tires.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 1, 1996 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kodiak, Alaska · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N9608G · registry record · serial U20601808
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he was landing on a beach near a remote river to pick up fishermen. During the landing roll-out, the pilot slowed the airplane to about 5 knots and was beginning to turn the airplane around. The nose wheel encountered an area of soft sand during the turn and the nose wheel strut fractured. The airplane was equipped with 10.5 X 28.5 X 15 tundra tires, wheels, and hubs that were installed on the main landing gear under an FAA Supplemental Type Certificate. The STC requires that the airplane must be equipped with an FAA approved nose wheel/tire installation. The airplane had an oversized 8.50 nose wheel tire and tube installed that was approved by an FAA FSDO inspector under a field approval. The FAA's handbook for airworthiness inspectors indicates that modifications to landing gear are major alterations and require an STC.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,950 hours in all; 160 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 1,850 as pilot in command; 325 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,091 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 4, 1996; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F48B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Island Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: ADQ AK at 4:50 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N9608G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.