Cessna U206F accident near Friday Harbor, Washington, March 22, 1993
On March 22, 1993 at about 3:50 pm local time, a Cessna U206F, registered N8768Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Friday Harbor, Washington (Friday Harbor 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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE IMPROPER USE OF FLIGHT CONTROLS BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND. FACTORS RELATING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE STRONG, TAILWIND WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 22, 1993 · about 3:50 pm local time
- Place
- Friday Harbor, Washington · Friday Harbor · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206F · all U206Fs on the register
- Registration
- N8768Q · registry record · serial U20603521
- 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 WAS TAXIING TO THE TERMINAL IN STRONG TAILWIND CONDITIONS AND BEGAN A TURN INTO THE WIND WITHOUT PROPER MOVEMENT OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS. A GUST OF WIND LIFTED THE TAIL, AND THE ACFT NOSED OVER ON THE RAMP.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,654 hours in all; 287 in this make and model; 95 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days; 1,558 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,866 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 17, 1993; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: West Isle Air
The flight
- Departed from: ORS Eastsound WA at 3:30 pm
- Runway 16, 3,400 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 24 knots, gusting 31
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°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.