Cessna 208B accident near Cody, Wyoming, February 3, 1999
On February 3, 1999, a Cessna 208B, registered N980FE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cody, Wyoming (Yellowstone 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 visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inability to maintain aircraft control due to unfavorable winds conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 3, 1999
- Place
- Cody, Wyoming · Yellowstone Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N980FE · registry record · serial 208B0108
- 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 he was taxiing out for takeoff on runway 22, he was monitoring the airport's Automatic Weather Observation Station (AWOS), and winds were reported to be gusting 34 to 36 knots. While turning from northwest to northeast on the taxiways, the airplane's left wing lifted up and the airplane nosed down. The AWOS wind report approximately 3 minutes after the accident was 250 degrees at 27 knots, gusting to 43 knots. The manufacturer's Information Manual for this airplane states that the maximum demonstrated crosswind velocity is 20 knots (not a limitation).
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,585 hours in all; 730 in this make and model; 211 in the last 90 days; 68 in the last 30 days; 2,730 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Corporate Air
The flight
- Departed from: COD
- Destination: RIW Riverton WY
- Runway 22, 8,276 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 250° at 27 knots, gusting 43
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 10°F (-12°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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN99LA036.