Cessna 402B accident near Oakley, Utah, March 2, 1993
On March 2, 1993 at about 12:28 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N3103P, was destroyed in an accident near Oakley, Utah. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
POOR INFLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION. FACTORS TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARK NIGHT CONDITION AND TERRAIN CLEARANCE WAS NOT MAINTAINED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 2, 1993 · about 12:28 pm local time
- Place
- Oakley, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N3103P · registry record · serial 402B0821
- 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 FLIGHT TOOK OFF AT 0500 HOURS IN DARK VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. RADAR DATA INDICATES THAT THE FLIGHT WAS HEADING IN AN EASTERLY DIRECTION, TOWARDS ITS DESTINATION AND HAD CLIMBED TO AND LEVELED OFF AT 12,500 FEET. THREE MINUTES PRIOR TO THE LAST IDENTIFIED RADAR TARGET, THE PILOT OBTAINED A PARTIAL WEATHER BRIEFING, FOR THE DESTINATION AIRPORTS, FROM THE FLIGHT SERVICE STATION. THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED IN AN AREA OF HIGH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. EVIDENCE INDICATED THAT THE FLIGHT COLLIDED WITH A RIDGE LINE AT THE 12,400 FOOT LEVEL. THE MAIN WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE RIDGE AT 11,400 FEET. DURING THE POST CRASH INVESTIGATION, THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION.
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: 5,521 hours in all; 502 in this make and model; 295 in the last 90 days; 94 in the last 30 days; 3,764 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,436 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 15, 1993; 149 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: U42 Salt Lake City UT at 12:00 pm
- Destination: RWL Rawlins WY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; not recorded at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:50 pm from SLC, 77 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.