Boeing 737-2X6C accident near Unalaska, Alaska, September 25, 1985
On September 25, 1985 at about 9:33 pm local time, a Boeing 737-2X6C, registered N674MA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Unalaska, Alaska (Unalaska airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person had minor injuries; 20 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- September 25, 1985 · about 9:33 pm local time
- Place
- Unalaska, Alaska · Unalaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 20 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-2X6C · all 737-2X6Cs on the register
- Registration
- N674MA · registry record · serial 23292
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT WAS DISPATCHED TO RSTRCTD ARPT WITH A 3900' RWY & NOTAMED: 3' STNDG WTR ON NORTH END OF RWY. SIGMET WAS IN EFFECT FOR MOD TO SVR TURBC BLO 10,000' DUE TO STRONG LOW LVL WND & ASSOC WNDSHEAR. CAPT MADE A SHALLOW OVRWTR APCH TO RWY 12, WHICH HAD A NR VERT 70' BLUFF SKIRTING ITS L EDGE, APRX 106' FM RWY CENTERLINE. ON FINAL APCH, CAPT NOTED VARIABLE WND CONDS & SUDDEN 15 KT INCREASE IN IAS DUE TO WNDSHEAR. HE CONTD APCH, BUT ACFT SETTLED & TOUCHED DWN 72' SHORT OF RWY. L MAIN GEAR HIT A LOG (WASHED ONTO SHORE) & LARGE ROCK, THEN COLLAPSED AFTER ACFT BOUNCED & LNDD ON RWY. UNPREDICTABLE WNDS & DWNDFTS WERE RPRTDLY PREVALENT AT THIS ARPT. OFFICIAL 1349 ADT WND WAS FM 160 DEG AT 8 KTS, BUT AT APCH END OF RWY, WND WAS RPRTD COMING OVR BLUFF & WAS GUSTY. FAA HAD GRANTED MARKAIR EXEMPTION TO OPR AT UNALASKA W/O OVRRUN/SAFETY AREAS. NO VASI AT APCH END OF RWY 12. OWNER (STATE OF ALASKA) DELAYED IMPROVEMENTS DUE TO FUNDING PRBLMS. CAPT'S 10TH LNDG AT UNALASKA; HAD NO SUNGLASSES; BLINDED BY SUNGLARE OFF WTR. REQD DRY LNDG FIELD LENGTH WAS COMPUTED TO BE 3700'.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,969 hours in all; 1,173 in this make and model; 206 in the last 90 days; 71 in the last 30 days; 11,269 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 614 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 18, 1985; 59 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 128,100 lb
- Seats: 76
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-17A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 2:26 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 12, 3,900 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:49 pm from DUT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 16 |
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 N674MA 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.