TEXTRON AVIATION INC 208BBERING AIR INC
Nome, AK, USA · 2025-02-06·N321BA
What happened
NTSB summary, verbatimOn February 6, 2025, about 1520 Alaska standard time, a Textron Aviation 208B airplane, N321BA, operated as Bering Air flight 445, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Nome, Alaska. The pilot and nine passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as a scheduled charter flight.
Photographs
1the aircraft, and what the investigators foundProbable cause
the Board's determinationThe National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the pilot’s inadequate airspeed management due to workload and degraded situation awareness and his improper inputs leading up to and during the aerodynamic stall, which increased the airplane’s angle of attack. Also causal was operation of the airplane above maximum gross weight, which reduced the airplane’s stall margin. Contributing to the accident were the operator’s inadequate safety management, which allowed the routine operation of flights that exceeded weight limitations, and the Federal Aviation Administration’s inadequate oversight of the operator, which failed to identify and address the routine operation of overweight flights.
Occurrence sequence
3 stepsNTSB coding · CICTT taxonomy- 1 · Enroute-descentAerodynamic stall/spin
- 2 · Enroute-descentLoss of control in flightdefining event
- 3 · Uncontrolled descentCollision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
Findings
6 causal · 0 contributing- CAUSEAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Airspeed — Not attained/maintained
- CAUSEAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Angle of attack — Capability exceeded
- CAUSEPersonnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control — Pilot
- CAUSEAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Aircraft capability › Maximum weight — Capability exceeded
- CAUSEOrganizational issues › Management › Policy/procedure › Adequacy of policy/proc — Operator
- CAUSEOrganizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Oversight › Oversight of operation — FAA/Regulator
Safety recommendations
2 issuedwhat changed because of this accidentTO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Require all 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and 91K operators, except single-pilot and single-pilot-in-command operators, to incorporate upset prevention and recovery training, whether in a simulator or an aircraft, and related checklists and procedures into their training programs.
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Develop explicit surveillance criteria for 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and 91K operators that are experiencing rapid growth, increased complexity of operations, accidents and/or incidents, or other changes that warrant increased oversight, including verifying that inspector staffing is adequate to accomplish the enhanced surveillance resulting from the new criteria, and increasing staffing for those certificates with insufficient staffing levels.
NTSB analysis
from the final reportOn February 6, 2025, about 1520 Alaska standard time, a Textron Aviation 208B airplane, N321BA, operated as Bering Air flight 445, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Nome, Alaska. The pilot and nine passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as a scheduled charter flight.