Amateur-built DHC-2 MK3 accident near Aleknagik, Alaska, August 29, 2002
On August 29, 2002, a amateur-built DHC-2 MK3, registered N4478, was substantially damaged in an accident near Aleknagik, Alaska. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to use a checklist to ensure the airplane was in the proper landing configuration, which precipitated an inadvertent water landing on amphibious floats with the wheels extended. A factor contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to secure the cargo in the aft cabin.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 29, 2002
- Place
- Aleknagik, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2 MK3
- Registration
- N4478 · no longer on the register · serial 1653TB
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The amphibious float-equipped airplane was returning to a lodge located on a remote lake after picking up supplies. The airplane departed from a paved runway on an airport. En route to the destination lake, the pilot noted the airplane would not attain its normal cruise airspeed and attitude. Believing the airplane was tail heavy, the pilot asked the aft cabin passenger to move forward. Upon touchdown on the lake, the airplane nosed down into the water. As the airplane nosed down, the supplies, which were not secured in the aft cabin, came forward, and pinned the pilot and front seat passenger against the instrument panel. The passenger in the aft cabin lifted as many of the supplies off the pilot and front seat passenger as he could, before he had to exit the sinking airplane. Both the pilot and front seat passenger exited the submerged airplane under their own power, but the pilot did not reach the surface. An autopsy of the pilot disclosed that he had drowned. A postaccident inspection of the airplane revealed the wheels had not been retracted after takeoff on the runway, consequently the airplane landed on the lake with the wheels fully extended. The front seat passenger said that the pilot did not use a checklist prior to landing.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 26,300 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: February 1, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,847 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 2002; 256 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-60A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PADL Dillingham AK at 6:40 pm
- Destination: Aleknagik AK
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.85 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from PADL, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N4478 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.