De Havilland DHC-2 accident near Sitka, AK
On September 20, 2004, a De Havilland DHC-2 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Sitka, AK. 5 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- September 20, 2004
- Place
- Sitka, AK
- Aircraft
- De Havilland DHC-2 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 5 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 57.047°N, 135.362°W
- NTSB ID
- 20041015X01635
Official records · ANC04FAMS2
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 20, 2004, at 1035 Alaska daylight time, an amphibious float-equipped de Havilland DHC-2 airplane, N712TS, departed the Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport, Sitka, Alaska, for a remote lodge located near the Warm Springs Bay Seaplane Base, Baranof, Alaska. The airplane did not arrive at the lodge, and was reported overdue at 1335. The airplane is missing and is presumed to have crashed about 1115 Alaska daylight time. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) on-demand passenger flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by Harris Aircraft Services, Inc., Sitka. The commercial certificated pilot and the 4 passengers are presumed to have received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The chief pilot for the operator reported that the accident flight was the second of two company airplanes that were transporting passengers to and from the Warm Springs Lodge, located on the east side of Baranof Island. The chief pilot indicated that when flights cannot fly directly from east to west, over the center of the island to Baranof, they typically follow one of two routes around the north end of the island. One route follows the shoreline via Salisbury Sound, Peril Strait, Rose Channel, Deadman Reach, Rodman Bay, Hanus Bay, Portage Arm along Chatham Strait, and Waterfall Cove to Warm Springs Bay. The second route cuts overland from Rose Channel, through a low pass along Adams Creek, to Rodman Bay. The second route cuts off the shoreline ar
Probable cause
Reason for occurrence is undetermined. The airplane is missing.
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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.
