Embraer EM-110P1 accident near Cordova, Alaska, February 22, 1984
On February 22, 1984 at about 11:05 pm local time, a Embraer EM-110P1, registered N103VA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cordova, Alaska (Cordova Mile 13 airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 22, 1984 · about 11:05 pm local time
- Place
- Cordova, Alaska · Cordova Mile 13 · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Embraer EM-110P1
- Registration
- N103VA · registry record · serial 110-204
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING A LANDING AT NIGHT, THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN SLIGHTLY LEFT OF THE RWY CENTERLINE, WHICH WAS NOT VISIBLE, & BEGAN VEERING TO THE LEFT. THE PLT REPORTED THAT THE ACFT DID NOT RESPOND TO RUDDER INPUTS, RUDDER TILLER INPUTS OR DIFFERENTIAL REVERSE THRUST. IT CONTINUED TO THE LEFT, HIT A 30 INCH SNOW BERM (LOCATED INSIDE THE RWY LIGHTS) & WENT OFF THE RWY. THE LEFT GEAR COLLAPSED & THE LEFT PROP HIT THE GROUND BEFORE THE ACFT CAME TO REST. DURING AN EXAM, THE LEFT WHEEL ROTATED FREELY, BUT ONE SIDE OF THE WHEEL WAS CUT & SCRAPED, INDICATING IT HAD BEEN LOCKED. NO MECHANICAL BRAKE MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE WAS VERIFIED. THIS WAS THE PLT'S 1ST FLT IN 21 DAYS.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,861 hours in all; 1,548 in this make and model; 188 in the last 90 days; 2,707 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,209 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 22, 1984; 56 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 15
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Valdez Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 6:05 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 7,499 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 110° at 5 knots
- Sky: not recorded at 500 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:57 pm from CDV, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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.