Cessna U206F accident near Moose Creek, Idaho, November 20, 1986
On November 20, 1986 at about 7:12 pm local time, a Cessna U206F, registered N7311Q, was destroyed in an accident near Moose Creek, Idaho. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 20, 1986 · about 7:12 pm local time
- Place
- Moose Creek, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206F · all U206Fs on the register
- Registration
- N7311Q · no longer on the register · serial U20602169
- 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
AFTER DEPARTURE AND DURING THE INITIAL CRUISE CLIMB THE PLT AND PAX HEARD A METALLIC CLICKING DESCRIBED AS SOUNDING LIKE A 'VALVE TAP' IN AN AUTOMOBILE AND COMING FROM THE ENG AREA. THE PLT EXECUTED AN IMMEDIATE COURSE REVERSAL BACK TO THE AIRSTRIP WHILE STILL WITHIN THE NARROW GORGE OF THE SELWAY RIVER. THE IMMEDIACY OF THE REVERSE TURN WAS BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE PLT'S EXPECTATION OF IMPENDING MECH PROBLEM WITH THE ACFT AS WELL AS ANXIETY OF THE SITUATION AT SUCH A CRITICAL TIME DURING THE FLT. THE TURN AT A RELATIVELY LOW ALT WITHIN THE GORGE NECESSITATED A TIGHT TURN RADIUS AND THUS REDUCED THE RATE OF CLIMB IN AN ALREADY HEAVILY LOADED ACFT. THIS EVENT PLACED THE ACFT IN A POSITION WHEREBY CLEARANCE WITH THE HEAVILY WOODED UPSLOPING SIDES OF THE GORGE WAS NOT POSSIBLE. DISASSEMBLY, INSPECTION AND TESTING (WHERE POSSIBLE) OF THE ENG, PROP AND ASSOCIATED COMPONENTS REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF ANY PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION WHICH WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A POWER LOSS, NOR ANY EXPLANATION FOR THE CLICKING NOISE.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,150 hours in all; 1,010 in this make and model; 123 in the last 90 days; 9,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,547 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 20, 1986; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 1U1 Moose Creek ID at 7:10 pm
- Destination: S80 Grangeville ID
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.