Cessna 208B accident near Bethel, Alaska, November 26, 1996
On November 26, 1996 at about 3:01 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N4704B, was destroyed in an accident near Bethel, Alaska (Bethel airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the pilot to maintain control of the airplane, while maneuvering to reverse direction after takeoff, after encountering an undetermined anomaly. The undetermined anomaly was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 26, 1996 · about 3:01 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · Bethel · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N4704B · no longer on the register · serial 208B0199
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was departing on a cargo flight. Just after takeoff, a company dispatcher attempted to contact the pilot by radio. The pilot replied, 'stand by.' No further communication was received from the pilot. The airplane was observed by ATC personnel in a left turn back toward the airport at an estimated altitude of 200 feet above the ground. The angle of bank during the turn increased, and the nose of the airplane suddenly dropped toward the ground. The airplane struck the ground in a nose and left wing low attitude about 1 mile west of the airport. The terrain around the airport was relatively flat, snow covered tundra. The airplane was destroyed. A postaccident examination of the engine did not reveal any mechanical malfunction. Power signatures in the engine indicated it was developing power. A postaccident examination of the propeller assembly revealed one of three composite blades had rotated in its blade clamp 17/32 inch; however, the propeller manufacturer indicated blade contact with the ground would try to drive the propeller from a high blade angle toward a low blade angle. Movement toward a low blade angle would compress the propeller feathering springs, while movement toward a high blade angle would result in a hydraulic lock condition as oil in the system is compressed. The propeller manufacturer indicated they had no reports of composite blade slippage in the blade clamps.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,623 hours in all; 474 in this make and model; 270 in the last 90 days; 99 in the last 30 days; 3,600 as pilot in command; 700 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,711 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 6, 1996; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BET at 2:59 pm
- Destination: KWK Kwigillingok AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 36, 6,398 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 7°F (-14°C), dew point 3°F (-16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:23 pm from BET, 1 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.