HIBBING — It’s been 20 years since one of Minnesota’s deadliest airplane tragedies killed 18 people near Hibbing.

On this day in 1993, a commuter plane that departed from Minneapolis crashed. Sixteen passengers and two crew members on Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 died. The plane crashed into an iron-ore mound on approach to the Chisholm-Hibbing Airport.

There was light snowfall and freezing drizzle at the time. But a National Transportation Safety Board investigation faulted the pilot, questioning his proficiency at the controls and his excessively steep descent.

There is a plaque at the site of crash.