N321BATextron Aviation 208B · 2020

On 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.

The student pilot was landing the glider on runway 36, a 3,000-foot-long, 200-foot-wide, turf runway. During the landing roll, the glider veered off the right side of the runway and struck a gazebo, which resulted in substantial damage to glider's right wing and fuselage. The student pilot did not reside in the United States and subsequently returned to his country of residence. The accident was reported to the NTSB by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector about 4 months later. Efforts to contact the student pilot were unsuccessful. The student pilot's total flight experience, and flight experience in the airplane make and model, could not be determined. According to an FAA inspector, there were no known or reported mechanical malfunctions with the glider that would have precluded normal operation. Winds reported at an airport located about 21 miles south of the accident site, around the time of the accident, were from 110 degrees at 10 knots.