Cessna 402C accident near Elim, Alaska, December 10, 1994
On December 10, 1994 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N1238K, was destroyed in an accident near Elim, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 5 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE OR CLEARANCE FROM MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARKNESS AND THE ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 10, 1994 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Elim, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N1238K · no longer on the register · serial 402C1019
- 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 AIRPLANE WAS ON A FLIGHT AT NIGHT FROM NOME TO KOYUK, AK, WHEN IT CRASHED INTO A MOUNTAIN AT THE 2725 FOOT LEVEL. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS DIRECTLY ON A COURSE LINE BETWEEN THE NOME AND KOYUK AIRPORTS. THE CEILING AT NOME WAS 3500 OVERCAST AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE. ACCORDING TO RESCUE PERSONNEL, WEATHER AT THE ACCIDENT AREA WAS: INDEFINABLE CEILING AND POOR VISIBILITY WITH HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. THE PILOT HAD A HAND HELD GPS ON BOARD THAT HE HAD BARROWED FROM ANOTHER PILOT. BUT THE DATABASE COULD NOT BE RETRIEVED FROM THE GPS. ACCORDING TO THE OWNER OF THE GPS, HE AND THE ACCIDENT PILOT PROGRAMMED DIFFERENT WAYPOINTS. THE PILOT DID NOT FILE A VFR OR AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN WITH THE FAA.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,804 hours in all; 828 in this make and model; 164 in the last 90 days; 97 in the last 30 days; 15,004 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,722 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 2, 1994; 34 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,190 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OME Nome AK at 10:27 pm
- Destination: KKA Koyuk AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 050° at 19 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 pm from OME, 77 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.