Cessna 208B accident near Globe, Arizona, July 22, 2005
On July 22, 2005 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N717BT, was substantially damaged in an accident near Globe, Arizona (San Carlos Apache Airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The fatigue failure of the compressor turbine stator vane, the liberation of vane material into the compressor turbine, and the total loss of engine power. Also causal was the operator's failure to inspect the compressor turbine vane during fuel nozzle checks.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 22, 2005 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Globe, Arizona · San Carlos Apache Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N717BT · no longer on the register · serial 208B0863
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane impacted a road and scrub brush during a forced landing, which was preceded by a total loss of engine power. According to the pilot, he heard a loud "thunk" during takeoff climb and noted a loss of engine power. He manipulated the power lever from the full forward position to the full aft position ("stop-to-stop") and noted he had no power. Post-accident examination of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A -114A engine revealed that the compressor turbine (CT) vane's outer rim liberated a section of metal that damaged the turbine blades downstream. The area of liberated material from the CT vane outer rim was examined by the manufacturer's metallurgists. The fracture surface of the outer rim showed evidence of fatigue with signs of oxidation in some areas indicating the crack had been in existence for some time. The liberated material impact damaged the CT blades and resulted in a loss of power. Review of the operator's records revealed that the engine was approved for an extension beyond the normally recommended 3,600-hour overhaul period, to 5,100 hours. The engine had accumulated 4,461.3 hours at the time of the accident. In addition, the turbine section (hot section) had a recommended overhaul period of 1,800 hours; however, the operator instead elected to utilize an engine trend monitoring program in accordance with a manufacturer issued service bulletin. Many errors were noted with the operator's manually recorded data utilized for the trend monitoring. However, it is not likely that the engine trend data, even had it been correctly recorded and monitored, would have depicted the fatigue cracking in the CT vane outer rim. As a result, the manufacturer issued a service information letter (SIL) PT6A-116 in January 27, 2003 (following a similar investigation), which reminded operators to conduct borescope inspections of the CT vane during routine fuel nozzle maintenance, as the manufacturer's maintenance manual recommended. Review of the maintenance record entries for the accident engine revealed no evidence that a borescope inspection had been conducted in conjunction with the fuel nozzle checks.
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, 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: 5,545 hours in all; 203 in this make and model; 184 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days; 5,305 as pilot in command; 4,748 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,461.4 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 1, 2005; 4,372.8 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Baltimore Air Transport
The flight
- Departed from: P13 Globe AZ
- Destination: SAD Safford AZ
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; ovct at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N717BT 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.