Cessna 207A accident near Tununak, Alaska, January 17, 1997
On January 17, 1997 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Cessna 207A, registered N9603M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tununak, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's decision to continue VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure to maintain clearance from rising terrain. Factors associated with the accident were: low ceiling, fog, rising terrain, and the pilot's inadequate evaluation of the weather conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 17, 1997 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Tununak, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207A · all 207As on the register
- Registration
- N9603M · no longer on the register · serial 710
- 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 pilot was flying cargo to a remote village located near the sea. He reported he was following the coastline, with the ocean on his right, and the shore and rising terrain on his left. He indicated that as he approached his destination, the weather conditions began to deteriorate with lowering clouds, drizzle, and fog. He was trying to decide which direction to turn to avoid clouds, when he entered the clouds and struck rising terrain. The pilot was subsequently rescued by local villagers on snow machines.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,825 hours in all; 1,405 in this make and model; 25 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 2,516 as pilot in command; 670 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 11, 1997; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethel AK at 5:29 pm
- Destination: TNK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 18 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°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.
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.