Douglas DC-6B accident near Mcgrath, Alaska, January 2, 1998
On January 2, 1998 at about 7:26 pm local time, a Douglas DC-6B, registered N861TA, was destroyed in an accident near Mcgrath, Alaska (Nixon Fork Mine Strip airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under large-aircraft private carriage rules (Part 125). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The ingestion of snow into the windshield anti-ice system, and the resulting obscured windshield which made runway alignment not possible. Factors associated with this accident were the cold windshield, the reduced performance of the windshield anti-ice because of the short taxi by the crew, and the insufficient information on the system provided by the manufacturer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 2, 1998 · about 7:26 pm local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, Alaska · Nixon Fork Mine Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC-6B · all DC-6Bs on the register
- Registration
- N861TA · registry record · serial 43522
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · large-aircraft private carriage rules (Part 125)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the takeoff roll, while passing 45 knots indicated airspeed, ice formed between the inner and outer panes of the airplane's windshield, obscuring the crew's vision. The flight crew aborted the takeoff, the airplane drifted off the left side of the snow covered runway, and caught fire. The crew reported the airplane and windshield were cold soaked and the temperature was -10 degrees Fahrenheit. The windshield anti-ice system blows air from a combustion heater between the windshield glass panes. The air source for the heater, once the airplane has forward airspeed, is two leading edge wing scoops. The crew told the NTSB investigator that the taxi time was too short for the windshield to warm up, and that during the taxi, snow was circulated around the airplane and into the wing scoops.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 27,000 hours in all; 16,000 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days; 24,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 46,626 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 22, 1997; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 103,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-2800-CB-16 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: NFR Nixon Fork Mine AK at 7:26 pm
- Destination: PAQ Palmer AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 34, 4,200 ft by 85 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: -9°F (-23°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
Other NTSB records under N861TA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC98LA014.