Piper PA-31-350 accident near Cold Bay, Alaska, February 17, 1990
On February 17, 1990 at about 5:35 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N27328, was destroyed in an accident near Cold Bay, 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 BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE ALTITUDE (OR CLEARANCE) FROM MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. THE ADVERSE WEATHER AND TERRAIN 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
- February 17, 1990 · about 5:35 pm local time
- Place
- Cold Bay, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N27328 · no longer on the register · serial 31-7752149
- 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
THE SCHEDULED FLIGHT'S DEPARTURE FROM KING COVE WAS DELAYED DUE TO A PASSING SNOW SQUALL. A WITNESS AT THE AIRPORT STATED THAT THE WEATHER AT THE AIRPORT WAS GOOD WHEN THE FLIGHT DEPARTED; HOWEVER, HE NOTED DARK CLOUDS IN THE DIRECTION OF COLD BAY, THE INTENDED DESTINATION OF THE FLIGHT. THE AIRPLANE DID NOT REACH ITS DESTINATION. IT WAS FOUND, WHERE IT HAD IMPACTED TERRAIN NEAR THE TOP OF A RIDGELINE AT THE 1250 FOOT LEVEL, BETWEEN KING COVE & COLD BAY. ABOUT 8 MILES WEST-NORTHWEST AT COLD BAY, WEATHER REPORTS INDICATED THERE WERE SNOW SHOWERS OF UNKNOWN INTENSITY IN ALL QUADRANTS.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,487 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 211 in the last 90 days; 54 in the last 30 days; 9,031 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,690 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 13, 1990; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KVC King Cove AK at 5:30 pm
- Destination: CDB Cold Bay AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 6 knots
- Sky: broken clouds; not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:00 pm from CDB, 11 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.