- Date
- January 3, 1989, 15:40 local (19:40 UTC)
- Place
- Russian Mission, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N7329UCessna 207A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19890103000159A
- Case key
- 5158
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The partial engine power loss due to undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's improper inflight planning by flying at a traffic pattern altitude insufficient to insure a safe emergency landing either on or off the airport and his misjudgement of clearance above the frozen river.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The commercial air taxi pilot and his passenger were uninjured following a forced landing. The pilot said that he had flown over his intended landing site at Russian Mission, AK., to inspect the runway. On the downwind leg, the engine of Cessna 207 lost most of its power. He was unable to restore sufficient power to remain airborne and elected to land on the nearby, frozen, yukon river. He said that he misjudged his altitude during the landing approach due to the featureless, all white surface of the river, and struck the surface while still in a slight right turn. Inspection of the crash site two days after the accident revealed numerous ice crystals in the left fuel tank sump. No other obvious abnormalities were noted. It is unknown if the ice crystals found in the fuel tank were contributory to the accident due to the length of time between the sample and the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7329U
- Reported as
- Cessna 207A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20700403
- Engine
- Continental IO-520, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Ryan Air
- Registered owner
- Ryan Air, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · December 18, 1988
- Departed
- KLG · Kalskag, AK
- Destination
- RSH · Russian Mission, AK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
- Airport
- RSH
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 33
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 4,650 total · 2,205 in this make and model · 4,020 as pilot in command · 240 in the last 90 days · 71 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 700 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 28 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N7329U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.