# NTSB ANC01LA138: de Havilland DHC-3, N254AW, Cordova, AK, September 7, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 7, 2001, 11:45 local (19:45 UTC) - Place: Cordova, AK - Coordinates: 60.033332, -144.466659 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=60.0333&lon=-144.4667&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 8 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 25, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 54921 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC01LA138 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54921/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC01LA138 ## Probable cause The loss of engine power during cruise due to the fracture of an engine cylinder exhaust valve. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(partial) - mech failure/malf, cruise - engine assembly,valve,exhaust - fractured (cause) - Forced landing, emergency landing - Nose over, emergency landing - terrain condition - muskeg ## Analysis The certificated commerical pilot with eight passengers aboard, was in cruise flight when he heard a loud bang as the engine began to run rough and lose power. As the pilot was performing engine emergency procedures, he smelled smoke in the cabin, and noted that the oil pressure was rapidly decreasing. During the subsequent forced landing in a marshy, muskeg-covered area, the airplane nosed over, and sustained substantial damage to right wing strut, engine firewall, and empennage. When the engine was disassembled, the exhaust valve within the number one cylinder was found fractured. ## Factual narrative On September 7, 2001, about 1145 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped de Havilland DHC-3 airplane, N254AW, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing about 53 miles east of Cordova, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) business flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was registered to Thomas J. Prijatel, and operated by Alaska Wilderness Outfitting Company, LLC, Cordova, Alaska. The certificated commercial pilot received minor injuries, and the eight passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and VFR company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight originated about 1115, from the airplane owner's remote lodge, located about 100 miles southeast of Cordova , and was en route to Cordova. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on September 8, the airplane/lodge owner reported that while in level, cruise flight, the accident pilot noted a loud bang as the engine began to run rough and lose power. He said that as the pilot was performing the engine emergency procedures, he smelled smoke in the cabin, and noted that the oil pressure was rapidly decreasing. During the subsequent forced landing in a marshy, muskeg-covered area, the airplane nosed over, and sustained substantial damage to right wing strut, engine firewall, and empennage. In a letter dated November 5, 2001, a representative from Ray's Aviation, Santa Paula, California, reported that when the engine was disassembled, the exhaust valve within the number one cylinder was found fractured. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N254AW](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N254AW), registered now, S/N 254, built 1957 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: de Havilland DHC-3 - Registry model: [Dehavilland DHC-3](https://openairdocs.org/model/dehavilland-dhc-3) (registry code 2800202) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney R1340 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (registry code 52016, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 254 - Airframe hours: 8838.4 - Engines: P&W R1340-59 600 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Business, Part 91 - Registered owner: Thomas J. Prijatel - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, August 20, 2001, 20 hours before - Departed: CVD, Cordova, AK - Destination: CVD, Cordova, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: minor; flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review July 1, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 21,000 total, 1,800 in this make and model, 21,000 as pilot in command, 100 in the last 90 days, 100 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 270° at 10 knots - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Temperature: 61 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20010907039259A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010907039259A), Sep 7, 2001: Dhav DHC3, Cordova, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Emergency landing enroute due to power loss. Pilot heard loud bang from engine, engine began running rough, pilot tried to reach suitable landing area… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.