Cessna 208B accident near Wainwright, AK
On April 11, 1997, a Cessna 208B (airplane) was involved in an accident near Wainwright, AK. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 11, 1997
- Place
- Wainwright, AK
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · Airplane
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 70.629°N, 159.961°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001208X07657
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 10, 1997, about 2030 Alaska daylight time, N408GV, operated by Hageland Aviation Services, Inc., as Flight 502, collided with the frozen Arctic Ocean while maneuvering near Wainwright, Alaska. The commercial pilot and all four passengers were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot had previously filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan, but departed with a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan. The regularly scheduled commuter airline passenger flight had departed from Barrow, Alaska, at 1955 and was destined for Wainwright. The flight was operating under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135. According to transcripts, statements, and records (attached) provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a person identifying himself as the pilot of N408GV telephoned the Barrow Flight Service Station (FSS) at 0819 on the morning of the accident and requested a "... standard briefing for the North Slope." The FSS briefer provided a briefing that described instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) at the Barrow Airport. The pilot continued to telephone and visit the FSS in person to determine if the weather would improve to visual meteorological conditions (VMC). [At the time of the accident, Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) prohibited commercial passenger-carrying operations in single-engine airplanes during IMC.] At 1231, the pilot telephoned the FSS again and asked if there were "... any changes in the weather?" The briefer again repo
Probable cause
The pilot's intentional VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his failure to maintain altitude/clearance from terrain. Factors contributing to the accident were the weather conditions.
More accidents in AK
- Beech 1900C, Nov 23, 1987
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Browse: Alaska · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
