Cessna 208 accident near Naknek, Alaska, July 22, 1997
On July 22, 1997 at about 2:30 am local time, a Cessna 208, registered N9481F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Naknek, Alaska (Naknek-Tibbetts airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots decision to continue the landing into adverse weather conditions and failure to maintain runway alignmet. A factor was the rain shower which resulted in reduced forward visibility.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 22, 1997 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Naknek, Alaska · Naknek-Tibbetts · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208 · all 208s on the register
- Registration
- N9481F · registry record · serial 20800070
- 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 airplane was on short final to land when it encountered heavy rain, which reduced forward visibility. The pilot continued the landing, and during the landing roll, the airplane drifted right, and the right wing contacted brush and trees. The airplane departed the right side of the 1,700-foot-long x 50-foot-wide runway.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 18,546 hours in all; 204 in this make and model; 291 in the last 90 days; 110 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,670 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 6, 1997; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT-6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Peninsula Airways INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 5NK AK at 9:25 pm
- Destination: 4AK9 Naknek/Tibbetts AK
- Runway 34, 1,700 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from AKN, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.