Cessna 208B accident near Grand Island, Nebraska, January 20, 1998
On January 20, 1998 at about 1:25 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N738FX, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grand Island, Nebraska (Central Nebraska Regional 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
ice build-up on the airplane's wings and empennage which led to an inadvertent stall and hard landing. Factors contributing to this accident were the pilot's inadvertent flight into icing conditions, and the icing conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 20, 1998 · about 1:25 pm local time
- Place
- Grand Island, Nebraska · Central Nebraska Regional
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N738FX · registry record · serial 208B0482
- 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 was in cruise flight at 4,000 feet mean sea level (msl), when moderate ice began forming on the airplane. The pilot requested and received approval from air traffic control to climb to a higher altitude. The airplane reached an altitude of 6,700 feet msl, and would not climb any higher. The pilot maintained 6,500 feet msl until he turned onto the VOR/DME approach for runway 31 at Grand Island. The pilot maintained an airspeed between 125 and 140 knots on the approach. When the airplane was over the runway, the pilot reduced the throttle from cruise power. The airplane began to drop. The pilot said that he added power, but it did not stop the sink rate. The airplane touched down hard on the runway, slowly veered to the left, departed the runway, and turned around 180 degrees in a field before coming to a stop. Approximately 1-1/2 inches of clear ice was observed adhering to the leading edges of the wings and empennage after the accident.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,500 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 7,550 as pilot in command; 1,250 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,139 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 23, 1997; 41 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT-6A-114A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Baron Aviation Services, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: OMA Omaha NE at 12:40 pm
- Destination: GRI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 6,608 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 080° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 2.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:58 pm from GRI, 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.
Other NTSB records under N738FX 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.