Cessna 206 accident near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, June 21, 1997
On June 21, 1997, a Cessna 206, registered N756DJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Prudhoe Bay, 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
The pilot's improper preflight inspection of the airplane and failure to properly secure the baggage door.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 21, 1997
- Place
- Prudhoe Bay, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N756DJ · registry record · serial 20604005
- 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 reported he was in a descent to land when the cargo door opened and struck the side of the fuselage, causing substantial damage to the airframe. He said he thought he had latched and locked the door properly before he departed on the accident flight, but when it opened, he realized he had not. Postaccident inspection of the door and locking mechanism disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomalies.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,200 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 6,100 as pilot in command; 850 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,766 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 28, 1997; 52 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F13B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AQT Nuiqsut AK
- Destination: PASC
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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 N756DJ 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.