- Date
- January 15, 1990, 10:28 local (18:28 UTC)
- Place
- Elko, NV
- Injuries
- 4 serious, 9 minor, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2721MFairchild SA227-AC
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 5, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900115000439A
- Case key
- 17815
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
Improper IFR procedure by the captain, and inadequate monitoring of the approach by the first officer, which resulted in a failure to maintain proper altitude during the approach. Factors related to the accident were: the terrain and weather conditions at the accident site.
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
During arrival, the flt crew of skywest airlines flt 5855 requested a vor/dme-b apch to the Elko arpt, which was approved. As the apch continued, the flt crew rprtd over the bullion VOR. Aprx 30 sec later, the acft crashed. Impact occurred at the top of a mountain, about 100' before reaching the VOR station. Elevation of the crash site was about 6460 ft; min published crossing alt at the VOR was 7000 ft. the arpt was 4.1 mi from the VOR at an elevation of 5135 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2721M
- Reported as
- Fairchild SA227-AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AC 716
- Airframe hours
- 2,928
- Engine
- Garrett TPE-331, 1,100 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Skywest Airlines
- Registered owner
- Equipment Acceptance Corp.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 13, 1990 · 9 hours before
- Departed
- SLC · Salt Lake City, UT
- Destination
- EKO · Elko, NV
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- EKO · Elko Muni/Jc Harris Field, runway 23, 7,211 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 14,314 total · 5,337 in this make and model · 10,837 as pilot in command · 214 in the last 90 days · 68 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 10 knots
- Temperature
- 34 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EKO, 4 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.