Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Iliamna, Alaska, August 21, 1983
On August 21, 1983, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N3129S, was destroyed in an accident near Iliamna, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries. 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 accident. 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
- August 21, 1983
- Place
- Iliamna, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N3129S · registry record · serial 269
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT GOT INTO A DOWNDRAFT AND COLLIDED WITH HILLY TERRAIN. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS SPOTTING CARIBOU AND SETTLED INTO THE SIDE OF A HILL. ACCORDING TO THE PASSENGERS THE ACFT WAS ABOUT 300 FT AGL PRIOR TO THE DESCENT TO GROUND CONTACT.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 9,558 hours in all; 1,116 in this make and model; 71 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 8,848 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,000 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 17, 1983; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 4,500 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 4:30 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 80 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 3 |
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.