Cessna 208B accident near Wainwright, Alaska, April 11, 1997
On April 11, 1997 at about 4:30 am local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N408GV, was destroyed in an accident near Wainwright, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 5 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's intentional VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain. Factors contributing to the accident were the weather conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 11, 1997 · about 4:30 am local time
- Place
- Wainwright, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N408GV · no longer on the register · serial 208B0455
- Damage
- Destroyed
- 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 had contacted the FSS 11 times on the day of the accident to obtain weather briefings. The conditions were below VFR minimums, which were required to conduct the passenger-carrying commercial flight in a single-engine airplane. The conditions later improved and the pilot departed under a special VFR clearance. The pilot performed two approaches at the destination airport in IMC that were consistent with the two GPS approaches that were available there. Weather data and witnesses indicate that daylight conditions, low clouds and poor visibility prevailed, with cloud tops at 1,000 feet. After the second approach, the pilot radioed that he was heading back to the departure airport because he could not see the airport. No distress calls or unusual engine noises were heard. The airplane subsequently flew north of the airport and away from the departure airport at an altitude beneath the minimum radar coverage of 2,200 feet. It impacted the frozen Arctic Ocean in a right bank and at a 60-degree nose-down attitude about three miles away from the location of the pilot's last radio transmission. An examination of the airplane (before it sank through cracking ice) revealed no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. An examination of the propeller revealed that it was under a power setting consistent with a maneuvering airspeed at the time of impact. An examination of the autopilot annunciator filament revealed that the autopilot was not engaged at impact. The airplane was nearly full of fuel and over its published maximum gross weight at impact. Small pieces of clear ice, about 1/4-inch thick, were found on portions of the tail surfaces. Interviews with operator employees and the pilot's wife revealed that the pilot may have felt pressure from himself and passengers to complete the flight.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,660 hours in all; 60 in this make and model; 3,460 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,740 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 26, 1997; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hageland Aviation Services
The flight
- Departed from: BRW Barrow AK at 10:55 pm
- Destination: AWI AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:58 pm from ABR, 73 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.