Cessna 208B accident near Bismarck, North Dakota, April 7, 1998
On April 7, 1998 at about 1:38 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N868FE, was destroyed in an accident near Bismarck, North Dakota (Bismarck Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the approach which resulted in an inadvertant stall. Factors associated with the accident were the icing conditions and the pilot's low level experience in this make and model of airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 7, 1998 · about 1:38 pm local time
- Place
- Bismarck, North Dakota · Bismarck Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N868FE · no longer on the register · serial 208B0193
- 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 airplane was making an instrument landing system approach in instrument meteological icing conditions when control was lost. The airplane impacted the terrain 1.6 miles from the approach end on the runway. The airplane contacted the terrain with the left wing first prior to cartwheeling and coming to rest approximately 120 feet from the point of first impact. The pilot had 19 hours total flight time in Cessna 208's of which 1.9 hours were in actual instrument meteorological conditions.
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; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,265 hours in all; 19 in this make and model; 71 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 2,103 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,140 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 26, 1998; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,997 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT 6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Corporate Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: GFK Grand Forks ND at 12:28 pm
- Destination: BIS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 8,794 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 010° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:40 pm from BIS, 1 miles away
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.