# NTSB ANC05LA136: Cessna 207, N9964M, Kotzebue, AK, September 2, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 2, 2005, 12:24 local (20:24 UTC) - Place: Kotzebue, AK - Coordinates: 66.884719, -162.398605 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=66.8847&lon=-162.3986&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 28, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-FAI FSDO 01 - NTSB case key (mKey): 62409 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05LA136 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62409/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05LA136 ## Probable cause The failure of the nose gear steering mechanism during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent encounter with the runway. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, landing - roll - landing gear,nose gear assembly - fractured (cause) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - landing gear,steering system - inoperative (cause) - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The airline transport certificated pilot was landing a wheel-equipped airplane on a hard surface runway at the conclusion of a commuter air taxi flight. As the pilot lowered the nose wheel to the runway surface, the airplane veered to the left, and the right wingtip and propeller contacted the runway. The operator's director of maintenance reported that the airplane's right wing received structural damage to wing ribs and leading edge. He also indicated that the nose gear steering link, located between the nose gear steering shaft and the nose gear steering collar, was fractured, and the attaching tab on the steering collar was also broken. He said that the mechanism for the fracture of the steering collar tab and the steering link was not determined. The steering link was not found. ## Factual narrative On September 2, 2005, about 1224 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Cessna 207 airplane, N9964M, sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during the landing touchdown at the Ralph Wien Memorial Airport, Kotzebue, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) scheduled domestic passenger flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated as Flight 2641, by Bering Air Inc., Nome, Alaska. The airline transport certificated pilot, and the sole passenger, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Robert Curtis Memorial Airport, Noorvik, Alaska, at 1210. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on September 2, the director of operations for the operator reported that the pilot was landing on runway 26. He said the pilot reported that when the nose wheel was lowered to the runway surface, the airplane veered to the left, and the right wingtip and propeller contacted the runway. At 1228, an aviation special weather observation at Kotzebue was reporting in part: Wind, 210 degrees (true) at 18 knots; visibility, 2 statute miles in light rain and mist; clouds and sky condition, few at 300 feet, 700 feet broken, 1,700 feet overcast; temperature, 46 degrees F; dew point, 46 degrees F; altimeter, 29.66 inHg. On September 7, in a telephone conversation with the operator's director of maintenance, he reported that the airplane's right wing received structural damage to wing ribs and leading edge. He also indicated that the nose gear steering link, located between the nose gear steering shaft and the nose gear steering collar, was fractured, and the attaching tab on the steering collar was also broken. He said that the mechanism for the fracture of the steering collar tab, and the steering link, was not determined. In the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1) submitted by the pilot, the pilot indicated there was a mechanical malfunction/failure of the nose wheel assembly and checked "yes" in that portion of the report listing a mechanical malfunction/failure. The pilot reported that he and airport personnel walked the runway after the accident and recovered several pieces of the right wing navigation light assembly. The broken steering link was not recovered. ## Aircraft - Registration: N9964M (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Cessna 207 - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 20700766 - Airframe hours: 15239 - Engines: Continental IO-520-F 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Registered owner: Bering Air Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: AAIP, August 1, 2005 - Departed: D76, Noorvik, AK - Destination: PAOT, Kotzebue, AK - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: PAOT, Kotzebue, runway 26, 5,900 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 34; injuries: none; airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 1, 2005; seat: left; flight hours: 7,000 total, 2,000 in this make and model, 250 in the last 90 days, 90 in the last 30 days, 4 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 180° at 18 knots - Visibility: 2 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 1,700 ft overcast - Temperature: 46 °F, dew point 46 °F - Altimeter: 29.65 inHg - Observed at: PAOT ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050902022969A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050902022969A), Sep 2, 2005: Cessna 207A, Kotzebue, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) [privacy data omitted] the pilot landed without incident, but upon roll out the pilot lost steering control of the aircraft and the aircraft veered to… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.