Unalakleet

The pilot, co-pilot and the passenger departed on a day VFR cross country flight in a large, 1950's era former military transportb category airplane to deliver cargo. The pilot did not file a flight plan, and had no communication with any air traffic control facility during the flight. While en route, witnesses saw the airplane fly slowly across a valley near the entrance of a national park, which was not the intended route of flight. The airplane suddenly pitched up, stalled, and dived into wooded terrain within the park. Two pilot-rated witnesses said the engines were operating at the time of the accident, and the landing gear was retracted. An on-scene examination of the burned airplane structure and engines revealed no evidence of any preaccident mechanical deficiencies, or any evidence that the cargo had shifted during the flight. A former military pilot who had experience in the accident type airplane, stated that the airplane was considered unrecoverable from a stall, and for that reason, pilots did not typically practice stalls in it. He also indicated that if a problem was encountered with one of the two piston engines on the airplane, the auxiliary jet engine on the affected side should be started to provide additional thrust. Given the lack of mechanical deficiencies discovered during postaccident inspection, the absence of any distress communications, and the fact that neither of the two auxiliary jet engines had been started to assist in the event of a piston engine malfunction, it is likely the pilot allowed the airplane to lose airspeed and enter a low altitude stall from which he was unable to recover.

The captain/operator, the first officer and one passenger, departed on a cross-country positioning flight. The airplane contained about 300 gallons of fuel. After 3.9 hours en route, the flight was cleared for a visual approach to the destination airport. During the approach, both engines lost power about 2,000 feet mean sea level. The pilot stated the right fuel tank was empty. He estimated that 50 to 60 gallons of fuel remained in the left fuel tank. While the airplane was descending toward an area of open water, he attempted to restart the engines without success. He then lowered the landing gear, and made a right turn toward a small airstrip, located about 5 miles northwest of the destination airport. The airplane touched down in an area of soft, marsh covered, terrain. During the landing roll, the airplane nosed down and received damage to the forward, lower portion of the fuselage. An inspection of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed the left fuel tank contained about 1 inch of fuel. The right fuel selector was positioned on the right auxiliary fuel tank. The left fuel selector was positioned between the left main, and the left auxiliary fuel tanks.

On june 2, 1990, at 09:37 Alaskan daylight time, Markair, Inc., flight 3087, a Boeing 737-2X6C, registered in the us as N670MA, crashed about 7.5 miles short of runway 14, Unalakleet, Alaska, while executing a localizer approach to that runway. The flight originated at 0828 at Anchorage International Airport, Anchorage, Alaska. Instrument meteorological conditions existed at the time, and the flight was on an IFR flight plan. The captain, the first officer, and a flight attendant sustained minor injuries. Another flight attendant sustained serious injuries. There were no passengers on board, and the aircraft was destroyed. The flight was operated under far part 121.

En route from Nome to Unalakleet, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with low ceiling, rain and fog. He decided to continue under VFR mode when the twin engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain. The wreckage was found a day later in a remote area. All eight occupants were killed.

En route from Fairbanks to Unalakleet, the pilot encountered technical problems with the engine and elected to make a forced landing when the airplane crashed into a swamp near Ruby. Both occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.