We’re still collecting data for this aircraft. Routes appear once we’ve seen it fly enough times.
Shortly after takeoff from Valdez Airport, while climbing at night and in heavy snow falls, the airplane entered a nose-down attitude then plunged into the sea about 1,5 km offshore. All four crew members were killed. They were performing a local training flight on behalf of the Air National Guard. Probable cause (official findings): The assumption that the pilot-in-command suffered a spatial disorientation is not ruled out. Also, icing may have been a likely cause of failure to gain altitude.
Fairchild C-123 Provider · 4 fatalities