- Date
- September 30, 1990, 21:23 local (Oct 1, 1990, 05:23 UTC)
- Place
- 60 E Of Bethel, AK
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N51441Maule M-4-210C
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 11, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19900930046859A
- Case key
- 5467
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Continued VFR flight by the pilot into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), and his failure to maintain altitude and clearance above mountainous terrain. Factors related to the accident were: darkness, adverse terrain and weather conditions, the pilot's lack of instrument experience, and the pilot becoming lost or disoriented.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Bfr flt fm anchorage to bethel, AK, non-inst rated plt was adzd that VFR flt wasn't rcmdd. En route, he conversed with mcgrath fss while vfr-on-top & indcd he would dscnd thru hole in clds to lnd/refuel at lime, AK. At 1948 adt, he rprtd en route again, 150 mi east of bethel. At 2054, plt ctcd bethel fss for tfc & wx adzy & rprtd 40 mi east in 'a little bit of fog.' Abt 10 min ltr, he said he was getting disoriented, reqd assistance, then rprtd '60 mi out.' He indcd he couldn't see to set transponder to 7700 (at ngt). At 2106, he rprtd at 6000' & asked abt fcst cig & 'how hi can I go to get up out of this if I get some reference.' Rdo ctc was lost for abt 12 min, then plt said he was at 3700' & still 58 mi fm bethel. No df strobe or radar info was obtained, though a df steer was bgn at 2119, but was not attained. Acft impacted 45-50 deg rising trrn abt 100' blo mtn ridge at 3200' lvl. No preimpact part failure/malfunction was fnd. Exam revealed: eng RPM 2699, throttle/mixture full fwd, airspd 30 KTS. Prop was fnd 15' uphill fm wreckage with extsv dmg.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N51441
- Reported as
- Maule M-4-210C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1103C
- Airframe hours
- 9,329
- Engine
- Continental IO-360-A, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles T. Gasta
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 8, 1990 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- 23AK · Lime Village, AK
- Destination
- BET · Bethel, AK
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- NONE
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 435 total · 392 in this make and model · 379 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.