Overview
- A Cessna 208B Caravan operating as Bering Air Flight 445 crashed into pack ice off Nome, Alaska, on Feb. 6, 2025, killing the pilot and nine passengers.
- The NTSB found the airplane slowed during descent until the autopilot disengaged, the pilot made control inputs that raised the wing angle, and the plane entered an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.
- Investigators estimated the airplane was about 991 pounds over the maximum gross weight allowed for icing conditions, and they documented a pattern of underreported weights and routine overweight flights at Bering Air.
- The report says the TKS ice‑protection system worked but managing it increased pilot workload and reduced airspeed awareness, contributing to the accident.
- The NTSB issued new and reiterated recommendations — including upset prevention and recovery training for many Part 135 operators, explicit surveillance criteria for fast‑growing carriers, expanded load‑manifest rules, flight data monitoring, certificated dispatchers, and crash‑resistant recorders — while Bering Air has made procedural changes and the FAA says it will review the recommendations.