Cessna 207 accident near Kotzebue, Alaska, September 17, 1998
On September 17, 1998 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N1809Q, was destroyed in an accident near Kotzebue, Alaska. 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
The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Factors associated with the accident were low ceilings, mountainous/hilly terrain features, rain, and fog.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 17, 1998 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kotzebue, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N1809Q · no longer on the register · serial 20700787
- 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 airline transport pilot departed on a CFR Part 135 cargo/mail flight for a remote coastal village. When the flight did not reach the destination, an aerial search was initiated. The wreckage was located the following day in mountainous terrain, 21 miles from the departure airport. The airplane had collided with rising terrain. An AIRMET for mountain obscuration in clouds and precipitation was issued for the pilot's planned route of flight. A pilot that departed about 20 minutes after the accident airplane's departure, had a similar route of flight. He characterized the weather conditions along the accident airplane's route as 'very low visibility with rain, fog and varied layers of cloud cover.' This pilot stated that he changed his route in order to avoid the worsening weather conditions. He added that with satisfactory weather conditions, and given the intended destination of the accident airplane, the standard route of flight would be directly over the mountain that the accident airplane collided with.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,891 hours in all; 446 in this make and model; 98 in the last 90 days; 54 in the last 30 days; 4,400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,268 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 26, 1998; 71 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OTZ AK at 5:23 pm
- Destination: PHO Point Hope AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from OTZ, 21 miles away
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 N1809Q 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.