What happened
During a scheduled cargo operation traveling from Bethel to Tununak, a single-engine airplane impacted the terrain while in the cruise phase of flight. The incident occurred amidst challenging meteorological conditions characterized by heavy snow and whiteout visibility. There was only one person on board the aircraft at the time of the impact, and the pilot was killed in the accident.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified several contributing elements related to the environmental conditions and flight parameters. The primary factor was a controlled flight into terrain occurring during normal cruise. This was facilitated by the decision to proceed with a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight plan despite the presence of snow squalls in the region. Specifically, the following factors were noted:
- Presence of snow
- Whiteout conditions reducing visibility
- Operation under VFR flight rules during periods of poor visibility
- Reported low visibility across the area due to active snow squalls