Cessna 207 accident near Homer, Alaska, February 6, 1998
On February 6, 1998 at about 4:45 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N91029, was destroyed in an accident near Homer, Alaska (Homer airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A fatigue failure, and partial separation of the number 6 engine cylinder head assembly, the operator's inadequate progressive inspection performed by company maintenance personnel, and the pilot's inadvertent stall during a maneuvering turn toward an emergency landing area.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 6, 1998 · about 4:45 pm local time
- Place
- Homer, Alaska · Homer · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N91029 · no longer on the register · serial T20700020
- 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 certificated commercial pilot was departing on a 14 CFR 135 cargo flight. The airplane lifted off and climbed to about 200 feet. Instead of turning right toward the intended destination, the airplane began a left turn toward the runway. The angle of bank increased to about 45 degrees. The airplane then nosed down, and descended into snow covered terrain, about 200 yards north of the runway. Examination of the engine revealed the number six cylinder head was fractured, and slightly separated from the cylinder barrel. The area around the point of separation was blackened and oily. Similar discoloration was noted on the inside of the engine cowl. A metallurgical examination of the cylinder head revealed a fatigue fracture along a large segment of the thread root radius between the 5th and 6th threads. The engine's cylinder compression is part of the operator's approved airworthiness inspection program. The number six cylinder compression, recorded 121 hours before the accident, was noted as 60 PSI. The last engine inspection, 27 hours before the accident, did not include a record of the engine compression.
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; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,358 hours in all; 48 in this make and model; 132 in the last 90 days; 57 in the last 30 days; 1,192 as pilot in command; 359 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,192 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 9, 1998; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HOM at 4:44 pm
- Destination: KEB English Bay AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 3, 7,401 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from HOM
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.