Cessna 206 accident near Port Alsworth, Alaska, September 3, 1996
On September 3, 1996 at about 11:15 pm local time, a Cessna 206, registered N1801Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Port Alsworth, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions. A factor associated with the accident was the unfavorable wind.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 3, 1996 · about 11:15 pm local time
- Place
- Port Alsworth, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N1801Q · no longer on the register · serial U20602925
- 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 air taxi cargo flight was departing a small, remote lake. The pilot of the float-equipped airplane estimated the wind velocity as approximately 5 knots. Shortly after lift-off, while still in ground effect, he said the wind either shifted or died down. He felt the airplane suddenly lose altitude, and continue to sink until it collided with rocks and the shoreline.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,265 hours in all; 65 in this make and model; 348 in the last 90 days; 162 in the last 30 days; 3,095 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,005 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 10, 1996; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LHD Anchorage AK at 3:00 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°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 N1801Q 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.