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Accidents · NTSB SEA87LA163 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Cessna T-207 accident near Mccall, Idaho, July 9, 1987

On July 9, 1987 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna T-207, registered N6385H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mccall, Idaho. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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
July 9, 1987 · about 4:00 pm local time
Place
Mccall, Idaho · map
Type
Accident
Injuries
No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Cessna T-207 · all T-207s on the register
Registration
N6385H · registry record · serial 20700505
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

DURING CLIMB OUT TO CRUISE ALTITUDE THE PILOT NOTICED A DROP IN MANIFOLD PRESSURE AND A LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE. THE PILOT WAS IN THE PROCESS OF ATTEMPTING TO REACH AN AIRSTRIP WHEN THE OIL PRESSURE DROPPED TO ZERO FOLLOWED BY A TOTAL LOSS OF POWER. AN OFF AIRPORT LANDING HAD TO BE MADE ONTO SAGE BRUSH. FAA INSPECTORS DISCOVERED A HOLE IN THE CASE OF THE ENGINE. THE BEARINGS TO THE TURBOCHARGER WERE FOUND TO HAVE BEEN EXCESSIVELY WORN. THERE WAS OIL ON THE SPRING SIDE OF THE PISTON TO THE TURBOCHARGER CONTROL VALVE. THERE WAS ALSO EVIDENCE THAT THE PISTON WAS COCKED INSIDE OF THE CYLINDER TO THE POINT OF BEING WEDGED AND/OR OIL BYPASSING THE SEAL. THE TURBOCHARGER CONTROLLER WAS WORN AND HAD NOT BEEN REPLACED WHEN THE TURBOCHARGER HAD BEEN REPLACED SOME 10 FLIGHT HOURS AGO.

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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
  • Flight time: 7,400 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 80 in the last 90 days; 7,400 as pilot in command
  • Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
  • Seat: left

The aircraft

  • Last inspection: annual inspection, October 21, 1986; 59 hours since
  • Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
  • Seats: 9
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Engine: Continental TSIO-520M (piston); 0 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: USFS Indian Creek ID at 3:40 pm
  • Destination: 2UF Stanley ID
  • Runway 0

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Visibility: 30 statute miles
  • Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
  • Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
  • Altimeter: 30.00 inHg

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Crew1
Passengers1

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 N6385H the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time

1986-02-25DEN86IA083 · incident near Longmont, CO · minor damage · no injuries

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.