Cessna U206F accident near Stanley, Idaho, August 7, 1998
On August 7, 1998 at about 1:30 pm local time, a Cessna U206F, registered N7494Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Stanley, Idaho (Stanley airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot-in-command's not lowering flaps prior to takeoff and overload of the nose landing gear. Contributing factors were high density altitude conditions and high brush.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 7, 1998 · about 1:30 pm local time
- Place
- Stanley, Idaho · Stanley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206F · all U206Fs on the register
- Registration
- N7494Q · no longer on the register · serial U20602224
- 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-in-command reported that 'I had tried to take off with no flaps, thinking I had them down.' The aircraft never became fully airborne, passed through a perimeter fence and then collided with sagebrush during which the nose landing gear collapsed. Post crash examination of the aircraft revealed the flaps in the retracted position. The density altitude at the 4,300 foot long, turf airstrip was 7,325 feet.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,227 hours in all; 8 in this make and model; 110 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days; 1,144 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,595 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, July 25, 1998; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F(9) (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2U7 at 1:30 pm
- Destination: S81 Indian Creek ID
- Runway 17, 4,300 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 050° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 pm from MYL, 63 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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 N7494Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.