No fatalities

Night Landing Accident Involves Runway Misidentification and Snowbank Impact

Nikiski, AK, United States

On January 23, 2012, a CESSNA 207A operated by Rediske Air was involved in an aviation accident near Nikiski, AK. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's improper identification of the runway surface. Contributing to the accident was the snow covering the runway lights. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 13 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot misidentified the runway surface during a night landing and struck a snowbank on the left side, causing substantial damage to the wings and horizontal stabilizer.

Incident Overview During a night landing, the pilot misidentified the runway surface and landed the airplane in a snowbank located on the left side of the runway. The pilot reported that most of the runway lights had been covered by heavy snow, making them not clearly visible during the straight-in approach. ## Damage Assessment The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the horizontal stabilizer as a result of the impact with the snowbank. No specific aircraft type, registration, date, operator, or location was provided in the source material, and no probable cause was explicitly stated beyond the pilot's account of the misidentification and visibility conditions.

Contributing factors

Causes

Pilot

Other contributing factors

Decision related to conditionContributed to outcome