Cessna TU-206G accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, September 29, 1998
On September 29, 1998 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Cessna TU-206G, registered N4820U, was destroyed in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing factors were low ceilings and mountainous/hilly terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 1998 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Ketchikan, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna TU-206G · all TU-206Gs on the register
- Registration
- N4820U · no longer on the register · serial 206-05116
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Prior to departing on a VFR cross-country flight along a planned coastal route, the private pilot obtained a weather briefing. The weather conditions along the route, which the pilot had flown several times, consisted of low ceilings and low visibility in rain and mist. AIRMETs were in effect for IFR conditions, mountain obscuration, turbulence, and low level wind shear. After departure, no distress communication was received from the pilot, and the airplane did not arrive at its destination. A search for the airplane in the U.S. and Canada was unsuccessful until four days after departure. The airplane was located about 900 feet msl on an island, 9 miles south of the departure airport. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire.
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: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: KTN at 3:26 pm
- Destination: BLI Bellingham WA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 156° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft; scat at 600 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from PAK, 9 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.
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.