A new report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the Bering flight, which recently crashed on sea ice off Alaska, was “more than 1,000 pounds above the maximum total takeoff weight for flights to known ice-type conditions.”
The commuter flight had moved from the Arlanklate to the Gnome when it disappeared on February 6th. The US Coast Guard discovered the plane's remains in sea ice about 30 miles southeast of Gnome a few days later.
“A post-accident inspection of the contents of the plane showed that the load and cargo weighed about 798 pounds. Based on that information, the plane had an estimated total takeoff weight of about 9,865 pounds.
“The final satellite tracking data points corresponded to a time of 1520:17 and an altitude of 200 feet,” he added.
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This photo, provided by the US Coast Guard on February 7, 2025, shows a Bering plane crashed in West Alaska while traveling to Gnome. (US Coast Guard/AP)
The plane, the Textron Aviation 208b, is “equipped with a TKS ice protection system that includes porous titanium panels along the leading edge of the wing, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, and wing struts,” the NTSB said in its report.
“The TKS system is designed to prevent ice buildup on the fuselage by providing ice protection from the tanks inside the cargo pods to the panels, propellers and windshields,” he continued.
The NTSB cited pilot operation handbook supplements related to the TKS system.
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“FAA records revealed that the plane is equipped with an Aircraft Payload Extender III (APE III) system.” This “provided an increase of 9,062 pounds in maximum total takeoff weight,” the NTSB added.
However, according to the NTSB, at the time of the crash, the plane was still “around 803 pounds or more than the maximum total takeoff weight of flight operations under the APE III Flight Manual Supplement.”
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Ice accumulation was observed by investigators of the rear stabilizer on the plane crashed during flight to the gnome. (National Transportation Safety Board/AP)
“The senior NTSB aerospace engineers will conduct a detailed review of the plane's performance as part of their investigation, including an assessment of the plane's center of gravity position,” the report states.
The NTSB also said that the pilots involved in the crash “accumulated about 2,500 total flight times, including 1,060 hours on the 208B plane.”
Victims Rhone Baumgartner, 46, and 41-year-old Kameron Hartvigson boarded a flight to Gnome to tackle a heat recovery system that serves the community's water plants.
Released by the National Transportation Safety Board, this image shows the accumulation of ice observed by investigators on February 7, 2025 at the base of the beacon/strobelite at the top of the vertical stabilizer. (NTSB/AP)
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The pilot killed in the crash was identified as Chad Antille, 34, of Gnomes. According to other victims Anchorage Daily NewsLean Ryan (52) was Wasilla's 52 years old. Donnel Erickson of Gnome, 58 years old. Andrew Gonzalez, 30, of Wasilla. Jadee Moncur, 52, of Eagle River. Ian Hoffman, 45, of Anchorage. Talaluk Katchatag, 34, and Carol Mooers, 48, of Unalakleet.
Pilar Arias from Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
