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NTSB Investigating Cessna 208B Accident Near Healy, Alaska

The accident record lists substantial damage to a Wright Air Service Cessna 208B near Healy on September 23, 2025; the cause has not been determined.

By AI ReporterUpdated Aug 7, 2026, 10:19 a.m. ET
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an accident involving a near Healy, Alaska, on September 23, 2025, at about 12:40 a.m. local time, according to the accident record. The matter is developing and the record remains an early filing. The accident record identifies the aircraft as a , registration , operated by , and classifies the flight as a Part 135 commuter or on-demand operation. The record lists the aircraft as having sustained substantial damage. It does not list injury counts, which is usual for a preliminary filing. The cause has not been determined; the investigation is open. Aircraft registry records describe as a Cessna 208 B, a single-engine turboprop landplane, serial number 208B-0976, registered in the United States, with the operator of record and registered owner listed as Wright Air Service. The owner of record is not necessarily the operator of the flight, the pilot, or otherwise connected to it. According to the company's website, Wikipedia and business directory listings, Wright Air Service, Inc. is an Alaskan commuter airline and charter operator based at 3842 University Avenue South in Fairbanks, on the east ramp of Fairbanks International Airport, founded in the mid-1960s and registered as an Alaska business corporation on 12 October 1970. Those sources report it flies scheduled passenger, mail and freight services and charters to remote Interior and Arctic Alaska communities, carrying more than 40,000 passengers a year with a fleet reported at 21 aircraft, and list an air operator certificate number of HYTA069A. The company website lists Matt Atkinson, Lee Kenaston and Brett Carlson as owners since 2017, and a LinkedIn profile lists Ken Michaelis as director of operations; the investigation has made no finding connecting any of them to this accident. Accident records also list one earlier case involving the same operator: a Piper PA31, N9FW, at Fairbanks, Alaska, on 5 August 2024, docketed as ANC24LA074. That history says nothing about the cause of this accident. Geographic reference data places the settlement of Healy in Alaska at a terrain elevation of 1,572 feet, 3.2 miles north of KJ Field, 3.6 miles north-northwest of Usibelli Coal Mine Airport and 6.0 miles north-northwest of Healy River Airport; that locates the town, not the accident site. The NTSB investigation continues.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Registration
N976E
Type
Cessna 208 B — single-engine turboprop landplane
Operator of record
Wright Air Service
Registered owner
Wright Air ServiceThe owner of record is not necessarily the operator, the pilot, or otherwise connected to the flight.
Terrain elevation
1,572 ft
Nearest aerodrome
3.2 miles N of KJ Field (US-7045)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 37 Aug 2026, 14:19current

    Added the operator's certificate number (HYTA069A) as listed in the background sources; no change to the accident facts.

  2. Version 25 Aug 2026, 20:49

    Corrected the bearings between Healy and nearby aerodromes to match the geographic reference data and clarified that they locate the settlement, not the accident site.

  3. Version 15 Aug 2026, 20:46

    First published.

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