Cessna 402C accident near Chadron, Nebraska, December 23, 1987
On December 23, 1987 at about 3:57 am local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N105GP, was destroyed in an accident near Chadron, Nebraska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 23, 1987 · about 3:57 am local time
- Place
- Chadron, Nebraska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N105GP · registry record · serial 402C-0642
- 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 ACFT WAS ON A FLT TO CHADRON VIA CHADRON VOR. ABT 30 MI SSE OF THE VOR, THE PLT REQD & WAS CLRD TO FLY DRCT TO ACKMEIAF FOR AN NDB RWY 2 APCH. THE ACFT CONTD TWD THE VOR WHICH WAS IN THE SAME GENERAL DRCTN, BUT 11.9 MI SOUTH OF ACKME. THE NDB WAS AT THE ARPT. ACKME IAF WAS 9 MI SW OF THE ARPT ON A BRG OF 227 DEG & DEFINED BY AN INTXN WITH THE 356 DEG RADIAL OF THE VOR. ABT 3 TO 4 MI SE OF THE VOR, RADAR SVC WAS TRMTD & FREQ CHG WAS MADE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT STRUCK TREES ON A RIDGE & CRASHED. INITIAL IMPACT OCCURRED IN WINGS LVL FLT AT APRX 4480' ON A DRCT ROUTE BTN THE VOR & ACKME IAF. AN INV REVEALED THAT AFTER THE FREQ CHG, THE ACFT CONTD TO THE VOR, THEN MNVRD AS IF THE PLT WAS FLYING THE NDB APCH, BUT WAS USING THE VOR AS THE IAF. RADAR DATA SHOWED CTC WAS LOST AFTER A PROCEDURE TURN WAS MADE & THE ACFT WAS OUTBND ABT 6 MI NE OF THE VOR. THE CRASH SITE, HOWEVER, WAS ABT 3 MI WSW OF WHERE RADAR CTC WAS LAST RECORDED. THE WX AT CHADRON WAS IN PART: 500' OVC, 1.5 MI VIS WITH LGT SNW & FOG. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,865 hours in all; 169 in this make and model; 207 in the last 90 days; 66 in the last 30 days; 6,656 as pilot in command; 642 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,229 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 18, 1987; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,850 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: AIA Alliance NE at 3:34 am
- Destination: CDR Chadron NE
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 020° at 11 knots
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:45 am from CDR, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.