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).
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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 3, 1999 · cases in 1999
- Place
- Cody, Wyoming · Yellowstone Regional · cases near this airport · 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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N980FE on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 208 Caravan 1,017 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,684 aircraft on the register
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114A 2,218 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Yellowstone Regional · nearest airport
- Central Wyoming Regional · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Wyoming 778 since 1982 · 109 in the last ten years
- Wyoming 3,236 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/DEN99LA036.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.