Piper PA-31-350 accident near Savoonga, Alaska, January 27, 1985
On January 27, 1985 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N4112D, was substantially damaged in an accident near Savoonga, Alaska (Savoonga airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- January 27, 1985 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Savoonga, Alaska · Savoonga · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N4112D · registry record · serial 8353004
- 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
THE PLT REPORTED THAT DURING ARRIVAL, HE OVERFLEW THE ARPT & MADE A RIGHT TURN WHILE WATCHING THE VILLAGE. AS HE MANEUVERED, HE ENCOUNTERED WHITE-OUT CONDITIONS, TURNED TOO FAR & SUBSEQUENTLY COLLIDED WITH RISING TERRAIN. THE WX OVER THE GENERAL AREA PRIOR TO & AT THE TIME OF THE ACDNT WAS REPORTED AS MARGINAL VFR.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,950 hours in all; 2,100 in this make and model; 310 in the last 90 days; 5,721 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,126 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 21, 1985; 26 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,045 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Bering Air
The flight
- Departed from: OME Nome AK at 4:35 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 23, 4,600 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded at 1,000 ft; not recorded at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N4112D 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.