Cessna 207 accident near Bethel, Alaska, June 18, 1998
On June 18, 1998 at about 1:30 am local time, a Cessna 207, registered N2162C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Alaska (Bethel airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
An in-flight collision with a large bird.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 18, 1998 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · Bethel · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N2162C · no longer on the register · serial 20700575
- 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 certificated commercial pilot entered a left downwind for landing on runway 18, when he noticed a brown object pass in front of the windshield, from left to right, striking the right wing. The pilot said he was able to continue the approach and make a normal landing. Company maintenance personnel reported substantial damage to the right wing's leading edge and rib assemblies, and noted the presence of what appeared to be goose feathers, imbedded in the damaged portion of the wing. In the pilot/operator report (NTSB form 6120.1/2) submitted by the pilot, he reported that the right wing leading edge skin was crushed back to the forward portion of the spar. The entire leading edge was replaced between the tip cap, and outboard of the attach point of the wing strut.
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: 1,100 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 1,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,750 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 5, 1998; 66 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AQH Quinhagak AK at 7:55 pm
- Runway 18, 6,398 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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 N2162C 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.