- Date
- June 20, 1989, 20:00 local (Jun 21, 1989, 04:00 UTC)
- Place
- Kassan, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N46DGde Havilland DHC-2
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890620024439A
- Case key
- 41041
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The excessive taxi speed used by the pilot in the existing weather conditions. Contributing to the accident was the gusty tailwind.
Analysis
After dropping off equipment at a lakeside cabin, the pilot began taxiing the floatplane on water in gusty downwind conditions in preparation for takeoff from the lake. While fast taxiing (on the step), he noticed the gusty wind conditions and retarded the throttle. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted in water.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N46DG
- Reported as
- de Havilland DHC-2
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 340
- Engine
- P&W R985-AN-14B, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning · Part 91
- Operator
- Ketchikan Air Servic, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Kassan, AK
- Destination
- KTN · Ketchikan, AK
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 21
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 970 total · 280 in this make and model · 825 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 16 knots
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KTN, 40 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.