Cessna 208B accident near Covington, Kentucky, February 14, 1997
On February 14, 1997 at about 11:20 am local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N922FE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Covington, Kentucky (Cincinnati Intl Arpt 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain the airplane on the ILS glide slope, which resulted in a descent below the glide path, and the inadvertent in-flight collision with a utility pole. Contributing factors were sleet/snow, dark night conditions, and the pole.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 14, 1997 · about 11:20 am local time
- Place
- Covington, Kentucky · Cincinnati Intl Arpt · map
- 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
- N922FE · registry record · serial 208B0022
- 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 performed the ILS Runway 27 approach at night in instrument meteorological conditions consisting of sleet and snow. The pilot reported he felt a 'jolt' after he acquired the approach lights, and he continued the approach and landed. Examination of the airplane revealed the left wing tip and aileron were missing from the airplane, and about 192 feet of electrical line was wrapped around the main landing gear. A pole about 4,350 feet prior to the runway, and about 100 feet left of runway center line, had been struck 27 feet above the ground. The missing wing tip and aileron were found near the pole.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,325 hours in all; 720 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 3,120 as pilot in command; 1,735 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,035 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 28, 1997; 35 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Baron Aviation Service
The flight
- Departed from: MEM Memphis TN at 9:00 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 0.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 700 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:58 am from CVG
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 NYC97LA054.