Amateur-built BEAVER U-6A accident near Oak Island, Minnesota, April 9, 1991
On April 9, 1991 at about 10:00 pm local time, a amateur-built BEAVER U-6A, registered N9028, was substantially damaged in an accident near Oak Island, Minnesota (Unk 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
UNSUITABLE TERRAIN WAS SELECTED BY THE PILOT. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE TERRAIN/RUNWAY WAS COMPOSED OF WEAK ICE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 9, 1991 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Oak Island, Minnesota · Unk · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built BEAVER U-6A BEAVER U-6
- Registration
- N9028 · registry record · serial 803
- 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 PILOT SAID THAT WHILE TAXIING TO A BOAT DOCK, AFTER LANDING ON A FROZEN LAKE, THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR BROKE THROUGH THE ICE. THE ACFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT WING AND RIGHT WING LIFT 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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,332 hours in all; 887 in this make and model; 142 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 3,192 as pilot in command; 1,400 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,370 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BDE Baudette MN at 9:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 020° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; scat at 13,000 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 8:50 pm from INL, 80 miles away
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.
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.