Dehavilland DHC-3 accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, June 25, 2015
On June 25, 2015 at about 8:15 pm local time, a 1958 Dehavilland DHC-3, registered N270PA, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Ketchikan, Alaska. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 9 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
(1) the pilot's decision to continue visual flight into an area of instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in his geographic disorientation and controlled flight into terrain; and (2) Promech's company culture, which tacitly endorsed flying in hazardous weather and failed to manage the risks associated with the competitive pressures affecting Ketchikan-area air tour operators; its lack of a formal safety program; and its inadequate operational control of flight releases.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 25, 2015 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Ketchikan, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 9 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dehavilland DHC-3, built 1958 · all DHC-3s on the register
- Registration
- N270PA · no longer on the register · serial 270
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/aviation.aspx. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-17/02. On June 25, 2015, about 1215 Alaska daylight time, a single-engine, turbine-powered, float-equipped de Havilland DHC-3 (Otter) airplane, N270PA, collided with mountainous, tree-covered terrain about 24 miles east-northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska. The commercial pilot and eight passengers sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was owned by Pantechnicon Aviation, of Minden, Nevada, and operated by Promech Air, Inc., of Ketchikan. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as an on-demand sightseeing flight; a company visual flight rules flight plan (by which the company performed its own flight-following) was in effect. Marginal visual flight rules conditions were reported in the area at the time of the accident. The flight departed about 1207 from Rudyerd Bay about 44 miles east-northeast of Ketchikan and was en route to the operator's base at the Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base, Ketchikan.
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
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during enroute (cruise) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Psychological › Perception/orientation/illusion › Geographic disorient (lost) › Pilot
- cause Organizational issues › Management › Culture › Safety › Operator
- cause Organizational issues › Management › Culture › Pressures/demands › Operator
- cause Organizational issues › Management › Culture › Standard operating practices › Operator
- cause Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring › Oversight › Oversight of operation › Operator
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › (general) › Decision related to condition
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Navigation system › Ground proximity system › Design
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Navigation system › (general) › Design
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,912 hours in all; 37 in this make and model; 153 in the last 90 days; 91 in the last 30 days; 3,912 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 24,439.5 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, June 10, 2015
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Promech Air, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: Ketchikan AK
- Destination: Ketchikan AK
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 15 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,200 ft; a few clouds at 800 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.90 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from KTN, 24 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 8 |
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.
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.