Cessna 206 accident near Boise, Idaho, August 22, 2013
On August 22, 2013 at about 4:50 pm local time, a 1975 Cessna 206, registered N922MA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Boise, Idaho (Boise Air Terminal airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The mechanical failure of the nose landing gear for reasons that could not be determined because impact damage prevented a complete examination.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 22, 2013 · about 4:50 pm local time · cases in 2013
- Place
- Boise, Idaho · Boise Air Terminal · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 TU206F, built 1975 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N922MA · registry record · serial U20603467
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was routinely used to transport passengers to and from remote unpaved, and sometimes rough, landing strips. The pilot reported that the landing at one of those unpaved strips was uneventful. Several passengers and their baggage were boarded, and the airplane then departed uneventfully. After a normal touchdown on the smooth, paved runway at the airplane's destination, when the pilot lowered the nose, the airplane began to vibrate severely, and the pilot was unable to maintain directional control. The airplane veered to the left, the nose landing gear collapsed, and the right wing contacted the runway before the airplane came to a stop near the edge of the runway. Examination of the nose landing gear components did not reveal any preimpact damage that could be associated with the vibration or failure of the nose landing gear. Although not causal to the nose landing gear failure, the nose landing gear steering collar was found to contain a high-cycle fatigue crack, but no further information was available to determine the age of the crack or the effectiveness of the previous inspection. Nose gear shimmy, which is an abnormal, and often violent, vibration of the nose wheel, can result in failure of the nose landing gear. It is usually caused by looseness of the nose wheel support mechanism or an unbalanced wheel. However, there were no reports of recent nose gear shimmy on the airplane, and damage precluded any postaccident determination of the airplane's susceptibility to shimmy. Although operations on rough, unpaved runways can induce higher and different nose landing gear loads than do operations from smooth, paved runways, there was no evidence to directly link the operator's use of unpaved runways with the failure of the nose landing gear.
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
What happened, in order
- Landing gear collapse during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Nose/tail landing gear › Failure other cases naming the landing gear
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,837 hours in all; 4,568 in this make and model; 175 in the last 90 days; 108 in the last 30 days; 6,817 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 22, 2013
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,706 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 6, 2013
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TSIO520 (piston); 1,597 hours total
- Operator: Mccall Air
The flight
- Departed from: C48 Dixie ID at 3:25 pm
- Destination: BOI Boise ID
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 10L, 10,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from BOI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
12 documents, released by the NTSB on November 24, 2015. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Site and Initial Information | PDF, 17 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Nose Gear Overview | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Nose Gear Component Dimensions | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Maintenance Records Excerpts | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Nose Gear Maintenance Summary | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 7 | Nose Gear Laboratory Examination Report | PDF, 20 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Record of Conversation - Maintenance Manager | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 9 | Supplemental Inspection | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 10 | Email re Nlg Storage | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 11 | Metars | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 12 | Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N922MA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N922MA on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Cessna 206 Stationair 213 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Cessna 72,677 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental TSIO520 4,110 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field · nearest airport
- Wilson Bar Usfs Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Idaho 1,535 since 1982 · 287 in the last ten years
- Idaho 4,199 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N922MA 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/WPR13LA382.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.