Cessna 207 accident near Bethel, Alaska, September 17, 1999
On September 17, 1999 at about 10:40 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N36CF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bethel, Alaska (Bethel airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain a visual lookout for a parked airplane during taxi.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 17, 1999 · about 10:40 pm local time
- Place
- Bethel, Alaska · Bethel · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 207 · all 207s on the register
- Registration
- N36CF · no longer on the register · serial 20700269
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial certificated pilot was starting to taxi from the company ramp to begin a positioning flight. As the airplane began to move from the ramp, the leading edge of the right wing struck a parked and unoccupied airplane. The right wing received damage that required the removal of the right wing leading edge from wing station 100 to 190, removal and replacement of a forward wing stringer, and installation of new leading edge wing skin.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 673 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 204 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 651 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 25,976 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 20, 1999; 92 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Yute Air Alaska INC.
The flight
- Destination: Z13 Akiachak AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 022° at 16 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,600 ft; scat at 1,300 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 28.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from PAB
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 N36CF 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.