Piper PA-31-350 accident near Evanston, Wyoming, December 18, 1990
On December 18, 1990 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N4082H, was destroyed in an accident near Evanston, Wyoming. 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
THE PILOT'S PREMATURE DESCENT. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S FATIGUE AND POOR WEATHER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 18, 1990 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Evanston, Wyoming · 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
- N4082H · no longer on the register · serial 31-8152087
- 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 AIR TAXI CARGO PILOT CRASHED ON A MOUNTAINSIDE, ABOUT 7 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT, WHILE ON A VOR-DME INSTRUMENT APPROACH. VARIABLE LOW CEILINGS AND VISIBILITY HAD PREVAILED ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT HAD HAD THE FLU FOR THE PRECEEDING 2 WEEEKS AND WAS STILL TAKING MEDICATION.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,001 hours in all; 671 in this make and model; 273 in the last 90 days; 89 in the last 30 days; 1,728 as pilot in command; 640 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Alpine Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: RKS Rock Springs WY at 5:29 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 22 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:53 pm from EVW, 7 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.