Boeing 737-2X6C accident near Unalakleet, Alaska, June 2, 1990
On June 2, 1990 at about 5:37 pm local time, a Boeing 737-2X6C, registered N670MA, was destroyed in an accident near Unalakleet, Alaska (Unakaleet airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
DEFICIENCIES IN FLIGHTCREW COORDINATION, THEIR FAILURE TO ADEQUATELY PREPARE FOR AND PROPERLY EXECUTE THE UNK LOC RWY 14 NONPRECISION APPROACH AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT PREMATURE DESCENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 2, 1990 · about 5:37 pm local time
- Place
- Unalakleet, Alaska · Unakaleet · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-2X6C · all 737-2X6Cs on the register
- Registration
- N670MA · registry record · serial 23121
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON JUNE 2, 1990, AT 09:37 ALASKAN DAYLIGHT TIME, MARKAIR, INC., FLIGHT 3087, A BOEING 737-2X6C, REGISTERED IN THE US AS N670MA, CRASHED ABOUT 7.5 MILES SHORT OF RUNWAY 14, UNALAKLEET, ALASKA, WHILE EXECUTING A LOCALIZER APPROACH TO THAT RUNWAY. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT 0828 AT ANCHORAGE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ANCHORAGE, ALASKA. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED AT THE TIME, AND THE FLIGHT WAS ON AN IFR FLIGHT PLAN. THE CAPTAIN, THE FIRST OFFICER, AND A FLIGHT ATTENDANT SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES. ANOTHER FLIGHT ATTENDANT SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THERE WERE NO PASSENGERS ON BOARD, AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. THE FLIGHT WAS OPERATED UNDER FAR PART 121. (SEE NTSB/AAR-91/02 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION)
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, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all; 6,400 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 110,630 lb
- Seats: 75
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-17A (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 11:28 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 14, 6,010 ft by 170 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:45 am from UNK, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 3 |
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.