Cessna 402B accident near Baker, Oregon, February 5, 1990
On February 5, 1990 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N50GP, was destroyed in an accident near Baker, Oregon. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT DISPLAYED POOR INFLIGHT PLANNING BY SELECTING TO FLY INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS. THE PILOT DID NOT MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT WHEN OPERATING IN SNOW SHOWER CONDITIONS AND COLLIDED INTO THE TERRAIN.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 5, 1990 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Baker, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N50GP · registry record · serial 402B1088
- 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
DURING A SCHEDULED CARGO FLIGHT, THE PILOT DIVERTED FROM THE NORMAL ROUTE AND TRAVELLED THROUGH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. THE RADAR PLOT INDICATED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS IN A GRADUAL CLIMBING LEFT TURN WHEN THE COLLISION OCCURED. THE WEATHER IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT REPORTED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE MOUNTAINOUS AREA.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,800 hours in all; 51 in this make and model; 3,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,672 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 10, 1989; 196 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520E (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PDT Pendleton OR at 7:00 pm
- Destination: BKE Baker OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 23 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 35 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 6,500 ft
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from BKE, 16 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.