De Havilland DHC-2 accident near Port Alsworth, AK
On September 9, 1998, a De Havilland DHC-2 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Port Alsworth, AK. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 9, 1998
- Place
- Port Alsworth, AK
- Aircraft
- De Havilland DHC-2 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 60.201°N, 154.280°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10967
Official records · ANC98FA145
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC Communication: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 9, 1998, about 1045 Alaska daylight time, a Dehavilland DHC-2, float equipped airplane, N1433Z, sustained substantial damage when it impacted mountainous terrain about 3,600 feet msl near Telequana Pass, Alaska. The pass is about 48 miles north-northwest of Port Alsworth, Alaska. The commercial pilot and the four passengers sustained fatal injuries. The flight was operated by Rust's Flying Service, Inc., of Anchorage, Alaska. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 135 as an on-demand air taxi transporting hunters from the Lake Hood seaplane base in Anchorage, to a hunting lodge on the Hoholitna River, about 190 miles west of Anchorage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a company VFR flight plan was in effect. The accident airplane was the third of three company airplanes crossing the mountain pass, spaced between three and five miles apart. The pilots described the cloud ceilings as 4,500 feet msl at the 3,300 feet msl pass, with five miles visibility. The pilots of the first two airplanes told the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) that they were in radio contact with the pilot of the accident airplane as they crossed through the pass, and then lost radio contact as they descended below the steep terrain. Both lead pilots indicated they believed it was due to terrain, and that when they continued to the west and still were not able to make contact with the airplane, they assumed the pilot had turned around because he saw something he did not like, and was attempting another route. The first two pil
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Factors associated with this accident were the pilot's unfamiliarity with the geographic area, the low clouds, his becoming disoriented, and the blind canyon into which he flew. An additional factor was the intentionally disabled stall warning system.
More accidents in AK
- Beech 1900C, Nov 23, 1987
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Browse: Alaska · De Havilland aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
