Four-Engine Aircraft Crash on Mount Tobin (50850)

Incident Overview and Timeline During a flight from Buckley AFB in Denver to Seattle, a four-engine aircraft was cruising at 12,000 feet when the navigator reported to air traffic control (ATC) that the aircraft was experiencing difficulty maintaining its assigned altitude. ATC subsequently cleared the aircraft to descend to 10,500 feet. Minutes later, the copilot reported icing conditions to ATC and requested permission to climb. Approximately 20 minutes after that exchange, while cruising at 10,000 feet in marginal weather, the aircraft struck the slope of Mount Tobin, which has an elevation of 2,980 meters. The wreckage was located several hours later approximately 300 meters below the summit. All 19 occupants on board were killed in the accident.