Amateur-built DHC-6-100 incident near Near Port Heide, Alaska, June 16, 1982
On June 16, 1982 at about 11:01 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6-100, registered N525N, suffered minor damage in an incident near Near Port Heide, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 16, 1982 · about 11:01 pm local time
- Place
- Near Port Heide, Alaska · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6-100
- Registration
- N525N · no longer on the register · serial 92
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT, THE LEFT ENGINE SURGED TWICE AND THE PILOT OBSERVED FIRE EMITTING FROM THE EXHAUST AND COWLING. AFTER SECURING THE ENGINE AND DISCHARGING THE FIRE BOTTLE WITHOUT EFFECT, THE PILOT MADE A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING AT PORT HEIDEN AIRPORT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ENGINE HAD EXPERIENCED A SEIZURE OF THE PLANETARY "X" GEAR. THE MODE OF FAILURE OF THE SUBJECT GEAR WAS NOT IDENTIFIED.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,050 hours in all; 150 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 23,287 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 43 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,579 lb
- Seats: 13
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P & W PT6 A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Sea Airmotive, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: AKN King Salmon AK at 2:00 pm
- Destination: Z79 Chignik AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 9 |
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.