Cessna 207 accident near Teller, Alaska, April 3, 1997
On April 3, 1997 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N6299H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Teller, Alaska (Teller airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries; 6 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions, and failure to maintain directional control during the landing. Factors related to the accident were: a crosswind, a downdraft, the pilot's delayed go-around, improper raising of the flaps, and inadvertent touchdown during the attempt to go around.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 3, 1997 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Teller, Alaska · Teller · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 6 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N6299H · no longer on the register · serial 20700474
- 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 pilot and 6 passengers were landing at a remote airport at the completion of a Title 14 CFR Part 135 commuter flight. A village agent reported the surface wind condition as 15 kts from the south. The pilot observed blowing snow across the runway surface, and estimated the wind was between 30 and 35 kts. He also indicated that downdraft conditions existed at the airport. About 1/2 mile from the threshold of the runway, the pilot selected 20 degrees of flap, lowered the right wing, and began to maintain runway alignment by application of nearly all of the available rudder travel. About 25 feet above the ground, the pilot applied full power to counteract an increasing sink rate. The rudder was already deflected to full travel, and the pilot decided to go-around. He raised the nose of the airplane and retracted the flaps, first to a flap up position, and then to a 10 degree setting. The airplane continued to descend, and touched down to the left of the runway centerline, about 800 feet beyond the landing threshold. The surface of the runway was rutted from previously melted snow and ice. The airplane departed off the left edge of the runway, and the nose wheel dug into soft snow. The airplane then nosed over.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,344 hours in all; 86 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 106 in the last 30 days; 12,405 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,469 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 27, 1997; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Olson Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: OME Nome AK at 7:57 pm
- Destination: AK54
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 7, 3,000 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 30 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 900 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 5 |
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.