- Date
- December 22, 1991, 18:36 local (22:36 UTC)
- Place
- Mcgrath, AK
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6390HCessna 207
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19911222057109A
- Case key
- 5639
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 pilot in command's improper inflight planning/decision and his attempt to fly VFR through IMC conditions. Factors contributing to the accident were the snow, whiteout conditions, and darkness.
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 wreckage was located on the northeast side of halfway mountain heading approximately 270 degrees at the 1600 foot level. The accident site is located within two miles of the initial approach fix for the localizer/dme runway 16 approach at Mcgrath. The mea for the DME arc is listed as 3600 feet above mean sea level. The sector obstruction clearance altitude is listed as 3100 feet above mean sea level. Weather for the area, AIRMET sierra, indicated that mountain tops would be obscured and that ceilings would occasionally be 1500 feet broken. There were reports of snowshowers in the area of sufficient intensity that would not allow the search aircraft to fly through the snowshowers.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6390H
- Reported as
- Cessna 207
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20700507
- Airframe hours
- 11,979
- Engine
- Continental IO-520-F17B, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Markair Express Inc.
- Registered owner
- Markair, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · November 27, 1991 · 43 hours before
- Departed
- 5NI · Nikolai, AK
- Destination
- MCG · Mcgrath, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 21
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,015 total · 1,741 as pilot in command · 188 in the last 90 days · 37 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 3 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- -6 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MCG, 17 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.