Flying too slow while overloaded in icy conditions caused last year’s deadly commercial plane crash in Alaska

By Aaron Cooper, CNN

Washington (CNN) — A pilot of an overloaded commuter plane appears to have been distracted by icy conditions and didn’t pay attention to his airspeed, leading to a crash that killed all 10 people onboard, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded Thursday.

On February 6, 2025, a Textron Aviation Cessna 208B Caravan, operated as Bering Air flight 445, disappeared off the coast of western Alaska. The plane took off from the remote fishing village of Unalakleet, which is only accessible by air, for a roughly 150-mile flight to Nome. The aircraft’s wreckage was later found on a floating ice pack about 34 miles southeast of the city, according to the US Coast Guard.

The crash came a week after a regional jet and a military helicopter collided in Washington, DC, killing 67 people. Before that, 10 people had not died in a plane crash in the US since 2022.

The Bering Air flight’s takeoff was initially delayed four hours as the pilot waited for the weather to improve, but eventually the plane with the pilot and nine passengers took off.

About 40 minutes later, as the plane was starting to descend, it was hit by ice and almost simultaneously, Nome’s runways closed for deicing that would last 10 to 15 minutes, the NTSB reported. At air traffic control’s suggestion, the pilot slowed down the aircraft so it would not arrive before the runways were clear.

Examination of the wreckage showed the deicing systems on the less than 5-year-old plane worked and ice accumulation did not cause the crash, according to the NTSB’s report.

“The airplane encountered more severe icing conditions than forecast, including large supercooled water droplets,” it said. “Investigators used archived electronic data from various onboard avionics systems to determine that the airplane’s ice protection system functioned as designed and prevented significant ice accumulation on protected surfaces.”

The plane was also overloaded by about 1,000 pounds for flying into icing conditions, the NTSB found.

Before the accident, Bering Air routinely flew its planes over the safe weight and used an incorrect maximum allowable weight for icing conditions, the report noted. In the week before the crash, the plane flew a total of six flights that were overweight, investigators said.

The NTSB also faulted the Federal Aviation Administration for not identifying and addressing the routine overweight flights.

Since the plane was overweight, it was more at risk of stalling, the NTSB added. A stall happens when there is not enough airflow over the wings to keep the plane aloft and can be caused by a combination of slow speed or angling the aircraft up.

As the plane dangerously slowed, the autopilot disengaged and the pilot didn’t speed up, causing him to lose control of the plane.

The NTSB found he probably was distracted by the icing, leading to a “loss of situational awareness.”

“The pilot’s attention was likely focused on operating the TKS ice protection system,” it said. “He would have had to allocate attention to scanning flight surfaces for icing, ensuring the system was working properly, and regulating fluid distribution and timing, in addition to managing the approach to the airport.

The 34-year-old pilot had flown about 2,500 hours in his career, including more than 1,000 hours in this type of plane.

In a news release, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy called the crash “a series of preventable breakdowns that eroded critical safety margins.”

“I’ve seen how Alaskan communities use aviation as a lifeline,” Homendy said. “Once implemented, our recommendations will make that lifeline safer and prevent other communities from experiencing similar heartbreak.”

At the time of the crash, Bering Air employed about 200 people and operated 30 planes and 13 helicopters, flying to 32 different destinations.

“After the accident, Bering Air adopted several changes to procedures and training, including the flight release process, cargo loading, and weight and balance procedures, among other changes,” the NTSB said.

The NTSB issued two new safety recommendations and updated six others, including calling for more pilot training on how to prevent and recover from a loss of control in flight.

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