Cessna 402B accident near Anchorage, Alaska, December 9, 1987
On December 9, 1987 at about 7:58 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N969JW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Anchorage airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people had minor injuries; 3 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 9, 1987 · about 7:58 pm local time
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Anchorage · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries; 3 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N969JW · registry record · serial 402B0328
- 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
DRG ARR IN HVY TRAFFIC, REEVE FLT 726 (BOEING 727) & WILBURS FLT 304 (CESSNA 402B, N969JW) RECD RADAR ADZYS FOR VISUAL APCHS TO RWYS 6L & 6R, RESPECTIVELY. SUBSEQUENTLY, BOTH FLTS WERE CLRD TO LND. AT 1555:04, THE LCL TWR CTLR TRANSMITTED THAT THE WND AT THE APCH END OF RWY 6R WAS FM 340 DEG AT 9 KTS & THE MIDFLD WND WAS 330 DEG AT 7. AT APRX 1557, FLT 726 LNDD ON RWY 6L. APRX 69 SEC LATER, AS FLT 304 WAS X-ING THE THRESHOLD (THR) OF RWY 6R AT ABOUT 100' AGL, THE ACFT ENCTRDWAKE TURBC (W/T) & ROLLED SHARPLY TO THE RGT, BYD 90 DEG. THE PLT CORRECTED WITH AILERON & PWR, BUT THE ACFT LOST ALT & HIT THE GND BFR RCVRY. THE WND DRG THE 1601 WX OBS WAS 020 DEG AT 5 KTS. RWY CTRLNS WERE 700' APART, THRESHOLD OF RWY 6LWAS 4600' BYD THE THRESHOLD OF RWY 6R. THE APCH CTLR DID NOT ADZ EITHER FLT OF THE OTHER'S PSN, NOR DID THE TWR CTLR GIVE A W/T ADZRY TO FLT 304. CALCULATIONS SHOWED VORTICES COULD HAVE DRIFTED FM RWY 6L TO RWY 6R IN AS LITTLE AS 28 SEC.FAA HNDBK ADDRESSED W/T ADZY FOR PARALLEL RWY OPNS WITH LESS THAN 2500' SEPN, BUT DID NOT ADDRESS OFFSET THRESHOLDS.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,495 hours in all; 1,225 in this make and model; 265 in the last 90 days; 11,470 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,301 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 23, 1987; 71 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Wilbur'S INC.
The flight
- Departed from: VDZ Valdez AK at 7:10 pm
- Destination: ANC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 6R, 10,897 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 340° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 90 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 18°F (-8°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 28.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:01 pm from ANC, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 3 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC88FA019.