Cessna 207 incident near Kotzebue, Alaska, December 23, 1998
On December 23, 1998 at about 1:05 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N1864, suffered minor damage in an incident near Kotzebue, Alaska (Kotzebue-Ralph Wein Mem. airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's selection of the wrong taxi route. A factor associated with this incident was the absence of taxiway lighting or marking.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 23, 1998 · about 1:05 pm local time · cases in 1998
- Place
- Kotzebue, Alaska · Kotzebue-Ralph Wein Mem. · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N1864 · registry record · serial 207-00526
- Damage
- Minor 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 airplane was taxiing for takeoff at night on a 1,463 feet long, snow covered, unlit and unmarked, taxiway. The pilot inadvertently taxied onto an unmarked vehicle road which crossed the taxiway at a shallow angle. He realized he was not on the taxiway when he saw vehicle headlights in front of him. He turned the airplane toward the runway lights, and the airplane dropped into a ditch. Since being stationed at the airport, the pilot had used the taxiway three times, and always in the daylight.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 69 in the last 30 days; 4,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OTZ AK at 1:05 pm
- Destination: WTK Noatak AK
- Runway 17, 3,896 ft by 90 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 10°F (-12°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:53 pm from OTZ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N1864 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N1864 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 207 Skywagon 207 115 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental IO-520 9,485 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Ralph Wien Memorial · nearest airport
- Noatak Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N1864 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC99IA019.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.