Cessna 207 accident near King Salmon, Alaska, July 17, 1998
On July 17, 1998 at about 1:25 am local time, a Cessna 207, registered N1763U, was substantially damaged in an accident near King Salmon, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The disconnection of the mixture control cable from the mixture control arm. Factors associated with this accident were the inadequate 100 hour inspections performed by company mechanics.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 17, 1998 · about 1:25 am local time
- Place
- King Salmon, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N1763U · no longer on the register · serial 20700363
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- 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 leveled off in cruise and was leaning the fuel mixture when the mixture control ceased to have effect. The pilot stated that the engine began to lose power, then quit. The airplane nosed over during the forced landing in tundra. Postaccident inspection revealed the mixture control cable had unscrewed from the mixture control arm. The cable had been replaced 238 hours prior to the accident, and was inspected 142, and 44 hours prior to the accident. The service manual specified the jam nut that locked the cable to the arm be torqued to 15 +/- 2 inch-pounds. There was no safety wire requirement for this linkage. If disconnected, gravity would allow the mixture control arm to fail to idle-cutoff.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 230 in the last 90 days; 105 in the last 30 days; 14,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,529 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 3, 1998; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F27B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AKN at 8:20 pm
- Destination: EII Egegik AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,200 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:52 pm from AKN, 10 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 N1763U 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.