The National Transportation Safety Board opened the accident docketFriday for the Nov. 29, 2013, crash of a Cessna 208B near St. Mary’s, Alaska. Of the 10 people on board, the pilot and three passengers were killed, and six passengers sustained serious injuries. The aircraft was operating under Hageland Aviation Services Inc., doing business as ERA Alaska (now Ravn Connect), according to the NTSB’s reports.
The aircraft was on a scheduled commuter flight in night instrument conditions from Bethel to Mountain Village and Saint Mary’s. In the NTSB investigation, a passenger said that about 30 minutes into the flight, the airplane entered thick fog. The airplane was picking up ice, and about 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 of an inch of ice had accumulated on the lift strut. The Cessna crashed into the top of a ridge about one mile southeast of the St. Mary’s Airport. In May 2014, the NTSB issuedan urgent safety recommendation to the FAA(PDF) as it had investigated a series of accidents since 2012 for flight operators owned by HoTH Inc., including Hageland Aviation.
