Textron Aviation INC 208B accident near Nome, Alaska, February 6, 2025
On February 6, 2025 at about 3:20 pm local time, a 2020 Textron Aviation INC 208B, registered N321BA, was destroyed in an accident during enroute (descent) near Nome, Alaska (N/A airport). It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 10 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the pilot’s inadequate airspeed management due to workload and degraded situation awareness and his improper inputs leading up to and during the aerodynamic stall, which increased the airplane’s angle of attack. Also causal was operation of the airplane above maximum gross weight, which reduced the airplane’s stall margin. Contributing to the accident were the operator’s inadequate safety management, which allowed the routine operation of flights that exceeded weight limitations, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s inadequate oversight of the operator, which failed to identify and address the routine operation of overweight flights.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 6, 2025 · about 3:20 pm local time
- Place
- Nome, Alaska · N/A · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 10 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Textron Aviation INC 208B, built 2020
- Registration
- N321BA · registry record · serial 208B5613
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On February 6, 2025, about 1520 Alaska standard time, a Textron Aviation 208B airplane, N321BA, operated as Bering Air flight 445, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Nome, Alaska. The pilot and nine passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as a scheduled charter flight.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during enroute (descent) defining event
- Aerodynamic stall/spin during enroute (descent)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during uncontrolled descent
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Airspeed › Not attained/maintained
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Angle of attack › Capability exceeded
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Aircraft capability › Maximum weight › Capability exceeded
- Organizational issues › Management › Policy/procedure › Adequacy of policy/proc › Operator
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Oversight › Oversight of operation › FAA/Regulator
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: unmanned (suas)
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 1,060 in this make and model; 194 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: September 22, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,333.7 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 7, 2025; 42.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,097 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. PT6A-140 (turboprop); 4,333 hours total
- Operator: Bering Air INC
The flight
- Departed from: PAUN Unalakleet AK at 11:37 pm
- Destination: PAOM Nome AK
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 0 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,700 ft
- Temperature: 14°F (-10°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 inHg
Weather report (METAR): SPECI PAOM 070005Z 00000KT 10SM -SN BKN027 BKN035 OVC055 M10/M12 A3020
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 9 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
80 documents, released by the NTSB on February 11, 2026. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
Other NTSB records under N321BA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.