N1658U

On July 6, 2000, about 1830 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Cessna 207 airplane, N1658U, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing, about 85 miles northeast of Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska, at latitude 68 degrees, 42 minutes north, and longitude 146 degrees, 08 minutes west. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) positioning flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by Alaska Flyers, Kaktovik, Alaska. The solo certificated airline transport pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan was in effect. The flight originated at the Deadhorse Airport, Deadhorse, Alaska, about 1630.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on July 7, the pilot reported he was landing at a remote off airport site that was also being used by a helicopter crew working in the area. The tundra-covered site, oriented southwest/northeast, is about 800 feet long, and 100 feet wide. The pilot said he overflew the site and noted a 55 gallon fuel drum at the southwest end of the site, presumably left behind by the helicopter crew. He said that there was a light wind from the northeast, making a downwind approach necessary due to the location of the fuel drum. He selected full flaps, and began a landing approach to the southwest. During the approach the tailwind carried the airplane past the pilot's intended landing spot. He said that when the airplane touched down, the main wheels hit a rut, and bounced the airplane back into the air. The pilot said he added full power to abort the landing, and just after lift-off, the airplane's nose wheel and propeller collided with the fuel drum at the end of the airstrip. He said that after the airplane struck the fuel drum, the engine began to vibrate violently. The pilot selected a tundra-covered forced landing site, about 1/4 mile from his original intended landing site.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, and fuselage.