Cessna 207 accident near Dodgeville, Wisconsin, October 19, 1989
On October 19, 1989 at about 12:40 pm local time, a Cessna 207, registered N1517U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dodgeville, Wisconsin (Dodgeville Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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
PILOT'S IMPROPER PLANNING/DECISION AND HIS DELAY IN DECIDING TO GO AROUND. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: THE UNFAVORABLE WIND CONDITIONS, THE PILOT'S VISUAL PERCEPTION ON THE CROWNED RUNWAY, HIS MISJUDGEMENT OF SPEED AND REMAINING DISTANCE ON THE RUNWAY, AND UNEVEN TERRAIN BEYOND THE END OF THE RUNWAY.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 19, 1989 · about 12:40 pm local time
- Place
- Dodgeville, Wisconsin · Dodgeville Muni · 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
- N1517U · registry record · serial 20700117
- 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
DRG THE LNDG ROLL, THE ACFT BECAME AIRBORNE AS IT TRAVELED OVER A CROWN/CREST IN THE RWY. THE PLT SAID HE APPLIED FULL POWER TO AVOID A STALL, THEN CONTINUED WITH FULL POWER APPLIED TO GO AROUND. HOWEVER, THE ACFT SETTLED BACK TO THE RWY & THE PLT DECIDED THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT AIRSPEED & RWY REMAINING TO GO AROUND. HE APPLIED HEAVY BRAKING, BUT WAS UNABLE TO STOP ON THE RWY. THE ACFT CONTD OFF THE DEP END & WENT DOWN AN EMBANKMENT TOWARD A HIGHWAY. THE PLT INTENTIONALLY SWERVED THE ACFT TO THE RIGHT TO AVOID THE ROAD. WHILE TURNING TO THE RIGHT, THE LEFT WING HIT UNEVEN TERRAIN & WAS DAMAGED. THE FIRST PART OF THE RWY HAD A 3% UPSLOPING GRADE. THE PLT ESTIMATE THE WIND WAS FROM 020 DEG AT 15 GUSTING 25 KTS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 186 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days; 2,300 as pilot in command; 765 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,307 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 13, 1989; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F3B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Freight Runners, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MKE Milwaukee WI at 12:00 pm
- Destination: 55C
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12, 2,750 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,900 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
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.