Cessna 208B accident near Flagstaff, Arizona, January 12, 1995
On January 12, 1995 at about 1:05 am local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N746FE, was destroyed in an accident near Flagstaff, Arizona (Flagstaff Pulliam 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 properly configure the aircraft fuel system prior to takeoff, and his failure maintain an adequate terrain clearance altitude while maneuvering to return to the airport. Factors in the accident were the dark night lighting conditions, low ceilings, restricted visibility conditions, and the pilot's diverted attention which resulted from activation of the airplane's fuel selector warning horn system.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 12, 1995 · about 1:05 am local time
- Place
- Flagstaff, Arizona · Flagstaff Pulliam · 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
- N746FE · no longer on the register · serial 208B0236
- 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
A WITNESS LOCATED NEAR THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RUNWAY SAW THE AIRPLANE INITIALLY CLIMB IN A NORMAL MANNER, THEN STAY BELOW THE CLOUDS AND MAKE A SHALLOW BANK 180-DEGREE LEFT TURN AND DESCEND BELOW A TREE LINE. TOWER TAPES REVEALED THAT THE PILOT TWICE TRANSMITTED THAT HE WAS "COMING BACK" TO THE AIRPORT DURING WHICH THE BACKGROUND SOUND OF THE "FUEL SELECTOR OFF" WARNING HORN WAS HEARD. THE PILOT THEN INFORMED THE CONTROLLER "I'VE GOT TO GET BACK", AND NO WARNING HORN WAS HEARD. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES AND CAME TO REST ABOUT 6,500 FEET SSE OF THE RUNWAY'S END. PRIOR TO DEPARTURE, THE AIRPLANE WAS REFUELED WITH 40 GALS OF JET A (20 GALS PER TANK), WHICH INCREASED THE TOTAL FUEL LOAD TO 148 GALS. THE FLIGHT MANUAL REQUIRED THAT THE FUEL BALANCE BETWEEN THE LEFT AND RIGHT TANKS BE KEPT WITHIN 200 POUNDS, AND SUGGESTED TURNING OFF ONE FUEL SELECTOR TO CORRECT UNBALANCE SITUATIONS. THE CONDITION OF ONE FUEL SELECTOR TURNED OFF WILL CAUSE THE "FUEL SELECTOR OFF" WARNING HORN TO SOUND. EXAM OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT FAILURES. PROP BLADE BUTT SIGNATURES INDICATED IT WAS OPERATING IN THE GOVERNING RANGE, AND ENGINE POWER WAS BEING PRODUCED AT IMPACT.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 36 in the last 30 days; 7,500 as pilot in command; 1,400 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,439 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 2, 1994; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,550 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Empire Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: FLG at 1:02 am
- Destination: PHX Phoenix AZ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 6,999 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 0.8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 90°F (32°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.
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.