Cessna 402 accident near Nome, Alaska, August 7, 1989
On August 7, 1989 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Cessna 402, registered N12333, was destroyed in an accident near Nome, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC) BY THE PILOT, AND HIS IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION. THE WEATHER AND TERRAIN CONDITIONS WERE CONSIDERED TO BE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 7, 1989 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Nome, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402 · all 402s on the register
- Registration
- N12333 · no longer on the register · serial 402C0806
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARRIVAL, RYAN AIR FLT 2401 (CESSNA 402, N12333) CONTACTED NOME FSS & RPRTD 15 MI WEST OF NOME. THE PLT WAS ADZD THE WX AT NOME WAS BELOW BASIC VFR. THE PLT REQUESTED A SPECIAL VFR CLNC. HE WAS ADZD TO REMAIN IN VFR CONDITIONS OUTSIDE THE CONTROL ZONE & TO STANDBY FOR A CLNC. LATER, WHEN FSS PSNL TRIED TO CONTACT FLT 2401 TO ISSUE THE CLNC, THERE WAS NO REPLY FROM THE PLT. SUBSEQUENTLY, A SEARCH WAS INITIATED FOR THE ACFT. FOUR DAYS LATER, IT WAS FOUND WHERE IT HAD CRASHED AT ABOUT 450' MSL ON THE EAST EDGE OF SLEDGE ISLAND, APRX 18 MI WEST OF NOME. AN EXAM OF THE WRECKAGE REVEALED THE ACFT HAD CRASHED INTO RISING TERRAIN, WHILE IN LEVEL FLT ON A HEADING OF ABOUT 250 DEG. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL PROBLEM WAS EVIDENT. THE 1300 ADT WX AT NOME WAS IN PART: 400' OVC, VIS 2 MI WITH RAIN & FOG, WIND FROM 120 DEG AT 12 KTS.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,247 hours in all; 312 in this make and model; 378 in the last 90 days; 132 in the last 30 days; 3,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,644 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 1, 1989; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,850 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: WAA Wales AK at 2:34 pm
- Destination: OME Nome AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 54°F (12°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
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.