De Havilland DHC-2 accident near Soldotna, AK
On July 31, 2020, a De Havilland DHC-2 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Soldotna, AK. 7 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 31, 2020
- Place
- Soldotna, AK
- Aircraft
- De Havilland DHC-2 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 7 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 60.496°N, 151.017°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200731X11938
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 31, 2020, about 0827 Alaska daylight time, a de Havilland DHC-2 (Beaver) airplane, N4982U, and a Piper PA-12 airplane, N2587M, sustained substantial damage when they were involved in an accident near Soldotna, Alaska. The pilot of the PA-12 and the pilot and the five passengers on the DHC-2 were fatally injured. The DHC-2 was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 on-demand charter flight. The PA-12 was operated as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The float-equipped DHC-2, operated by High Adventure Charter, departed Longmere Lake, near Soldotna, about 0824 bound for a remote lake on the west side of Cook Inlet. The purpose of the flight was to transport the passengers to a remote fishing location. The PA-12, operated by a private individual, departed Soldotna Airport, Soldotna, Alaska, (PASX) about 0824 bound for Fairbanks, Alaska. Flight track data revealed that the DHC-2 was traveling northwest about 78 knots (kts) groundspeed and gradually climbing through about 1,175 ft mean sea level (msl) when it crossed the Sterling Highway. The PA-12 was traveling northeast about 1,175 ft msl and about 71 kts north of, and parallel to, the Sterling Highway. The airplanes collided about 2.5 miles northeast of the Soldotna airport at an altitude of about 1,175 ft msl. See figure 1 for the airplanes' flight tracks. Figure 1 - Flight track. ADS-B data (N2587M) and ENA/ANX radar data (4982U). A witness located near the accident site observed the DHC-2 traveling in a westerly direction and the PA-12 traveling in a northerly direc
Probable cause
The failure of both pilots to see and avoid the other airplane. Contributing to the accident were (1) the PA-12 pilot’s decision to fly with a known severe vision deficiency that had resulted in denial of his most recent application for medical certification and (2) the Federal Aviation Administration’s absence of a requirement for airborne traffic advisory systems with aural alerting among operat
From Wikipedia
On July 31, 2020, a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver collided with a Piper PA-12 over the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, approximately 2 mi (3 km) northeast of Soldotna Airport, near mile 91.5 of the Sterling Highway. Most of the wreckage landed about 200 yards from the road. Occupants of both aircraft, including Alaska State Representative Gary Knopp, who was piloting one of them, died from the accident.
Text from Wikipedia, “2020 Alaska mid-air collision”, CC BY-SA 4.0; shortened to the introduction. Authors.
More accidents in AK
- Beech 1900C, Nov 23, 1987
- Textron Aviation Inc 208B, Feb 6, 2025
- Dehavilland DHC-3, Jul 7, 2013
- Cessna 208, Oct 10, 2001
- Dehavilland DHC-3, Jun 25, 2015
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.
