Piper PA-31-310 accident near Eldred Rock, Alaska, September 21, 1987
On September 21, 1987 at about 1:05 am local time, a Piper PA-31-310, registered CGPAC, was destroyed in an accident near Eldred Rock, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). 5 people were killed. 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
- September 21, 1987 · about 1:05 am local time
- Place
- Eldred Rock, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-310 · all PA-31-310s on the register
- Registration
- CGPAC · no longer on the register · serial 31-759
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLT WAS CLRD ON AN IFR FLT FM WHITEHORSE TO JUNEAU, VIA V-428 TO CHILL INTXN, THEN DRCT TO JUNEAU. CHILL INTXN WAS LOCATED ON V-428, 36 MI SOUTH OF HAINES NDB ON A BEARING OF 146 DEG. ON REACHING HAINES NDB, THE PLT CANCELLED HIS IFR CLNC & CONTD UNDER VISUAL FLT RULES (VFR). SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CRASHED ON A GLACIER BETWEEN HAINES & JUNEAU, APRX 15 MI SE OF HAINES NDB AT AN ELEV OF ABOUT 4500'. A PLT, FLYING ABOUT 5 MI SW OF THE CRASH SITE AT THE TIME OF THE ACDNT, RPRTD A BKN TO OVC CEILING AT 2500' TO 3000' MSL. THE ACDNT SITE WAS NEAR THE HAINES TRANSITION OF THE BARLO 4 DEPARTURE (SID). IN THAT AREA, THE MIN EN ROUTE ALT FOR FLT ON THE HAINES TRANSITION WAS 9000' UNDER INSTRUMENT FLT RULES.
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: foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,400 hours in all; 50 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,530 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, September 17, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: YXY Whitehorse at 11:36 pm
- Destination: JNU Juneau AK
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 11 knots
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:40 pm from Z26, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.