Piper PA-31 accident near Beluga, Alaska, December 22, 1989
On December 22, 1989 at about 10:10 pm local time, a Piper PA-31, registered N302SC, was destroyed in an accident near Beluga, Alaska (Beluga airport). 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
FAILURE OF THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN PROPER ALTITUDE. DARKNESS AND ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE RELATED FACTORS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 22, 1989 · about 10:10 pm local time
- Place
- Beluga, Alaska · Beluga
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31 · all PA-31s on the register
- Registration
- N302SC · registry record · serial 31-8275004
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 40 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 2,450 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,266 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 13, 1989; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,050 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-11 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ENA Kenai AK at 9:45 pm
- Destination: BLG Beluga AK
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 18, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:51 pm from ANC, 25 miles away
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.