Beech G18S accident near Nome, Alaska, March 21, 1997
On March 21, 1997 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Beech G18S, registered N555CG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Nome, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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
fracture of a propeller blade tip.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 21, 1997 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Nome, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Beech G18S · all G18Ss on the register
- Registration
- N555CG · no longer on the register · serial BA539
- 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
Shortly after reaching cruise altitude, the pilot heard a loud noise and felt a vibration in the left engine. He shut the left engine down, and returned to his departure airport. Upon landing, it was discovered that approximately eight inches of a propeller blade tip attached to the left engine had separated and impacted the nose section of the airplane. The blade tip damaged a former in the nose, and then traveled into the right engine nacelle. A small nick was observed on the remaining blade surface that coincided with the fracture plane.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,900 hours in all; 850 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,867 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 12, 1997; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OME at 8:40 pm
- Destination: GAM Gamble AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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.