Cessna 207A N207SP

Summary

On 28 June 1997 at about 00:33 local time, a Cessna 207A registered N207SP was involved in an accident near Nome, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 June 1997 at 00:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Nome, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Nome (OME)

Coordinates

64.7099, -164.6202

Aircraft

Cessna 207A

Registration

N207SP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brevig Mission → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC97FA092

2 people died.

The pilot's continued VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, and his failure to maintain adequate clearance from an obstruction (antenna tower). Factors in the accident were low ceilings and visibility, and the pilot's lack of familiarity with the geographic area.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight was landing under special VFR conditions. Special VFR operations are permitted with a visibility of 1 mile, and clear of clouds. The airport was the pilot's base of operations. The flight had held outside the airport surface area for 26 minutes, waiting for a special VFR clearance. While outside the airport surface area, the pilot was required to maintain 500 feet above the ground and 2 miles visibility. While holding, the weather at the airport was reported as 300 feet overcast. The visibility decreased from 4 miles to 1 mile in mist. The pilot was new to the area of operations, having worked at the company for 24 days, during which he accrued 69 hours of flight time. Four minutes after receiving clearance to enter the surface area for landing, the airplane collided with a 260 feet tall radio antenna tower at 222 feet above the ground. The tower was located 3.85 nautical miles east of the airport. The radio tower was not considered by the FAA to be an object affecting navigable airspace, but was depicted as an obstruction on the VFR sectional chart for the area. The tower was equipped with obstruction lighting for night illumination, and was painted alternating aviation orange and white for daytime marking. One minute after the collision, the overcast was reported at 200 feet, and the visibility was 5/8 mile.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.