What happened
A scheduled commercial flight traveling from Anchorage to Shemya via Cold Bay and Adak, Alaska, crashed during its final leg of the journey. Following a standard departure from Cold Bay, the aircraft maintained regular radio contact with the company, providing timely updates at various reporting points. At 16:50 local time, the crew reported being positioned 100 miles northeast of Adak, flying at an altitude of 4,500 feet in clear weather conditions.
The flight was originally cleared to proceed toward the Adak low frequency range under visual flight rules (VFR) on top. Shortly before its expected arrival time, the crew notified the company that they were canceling their instrument flight plan (IFR) to continue the flight under VFR. At 17:17 local time, the aircraft attempted to contact Adak approach control; however, subsequent attempts by controllers to reach the aircraft were unsuccessful.
Investigation revealed that the aircraft had struck the northeast slope of the Great Sitkin volcano on Great Sitkin Island, located approximately 25 miles northeast of Adak Airport. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and caused 16 fatalities.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the accident was caused by the pilot's failure to adhere to visual flight rules while descending over dangerous terrain.