Fort Wainwright Air

Rockwell Aero Commander 560

The twin engine airplane was completing a flight from Fairbanks to Nome with intermediate stops in Gulkana and Galena. On approach to Galena, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions with low ceiling, fog and snow falls reducing the visibility to 1,000 feet. On final under VFR mode, he was unable to locate the runway when he realized he was facing the tower. He initiated a turn to avoid collision when he lost control of the airplane that crashed near the runway. All five passengers were seriously injured while the pilot was killed.