Cessna 208B accident near Barrow, Alaska, November 8, 1997
On November 8, 1997 at about 12:08 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N750GC, was destroyed in an accident near Barrow, Alaska (Wiley Post Memorial airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 8 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's disregard for lateral fuel loading limits, his improper removal of frost prior to takeoff, and the resulting inadvertent stall/spin. Factors involved in this accident were the improper asymmetrical fuel loading which reduced lateral aircraft control, the self-induced pressure to takeoff on time by the pilot, and inadequate surveillance of the company operations by company management.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 8, 1997 · about 12:08 pm local time
- Place
- Barrow, Alaska · Wiley Post Memorial · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 8 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N750GC · registry record · serial 208B-0504
- 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 pilot, who was also the station manager, arrived at the airport earlier than other company employees to prepare for a scheduled commuter flight, transporting seven passengers and cargo to another village during hours of arctic, predawn darkness. Heavy frost was described on vehicles and airplanes the morning of the accident, and the lineman who serviced the airplane described a thin glaze of ice on the upper surface of the left wing. The pilot was not observed deicing the airplane prior to flight, and was described by the other employees as in a hurry to depart on time. The pilot directed the lineman to place fuel in the left wing only, which resulted in a fuel imbalance between 450 and 991 pounds (left wing heavy). The first turn after takeoff was into the heavy left wing. The airplane was observed climbing past the end of the runway, and descending vertically into the water. No preimpact mechanical anomalies were found with the airplane or powerplant. The aileron trim indicator was found in the full right wing down position. Postaccident flight tests with left wing heavy lateral fuel imbalances, disclosed that approximately one-half of right wing down aileron control deflection was used to maintain level flight, thus leaving only one-half right wing down aileron control efficacy. Research has shown that frost on airfoils can result in reduced stall angles of attack (often below that required to activate stall warning devices), increases in stall speeds between 20% and 40%, asymmetric stalls resulting in large rolling moments, and differing stall angles of attack for wings with upward and downward deflected ailerons (as when recovering from turns).
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, commercial pilot, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 3,400 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,466 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 1, 1997; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Hageland Aviation Services INC
The flight
- Departed from: BRW at 12:06 pm
- Destination: AIN Wainwright AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 24, 6,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 14,000 ft
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:06 pm from BRW, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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.
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 documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 ANC98MA008.