Amateur-built DHC-2, MK-1 accident near Barrow, Alaska, September 1, 1983
On September 1, 1983 at about 10:15 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, MK-1, registered N5147G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Barrow, Alaska (Umiat airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 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 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
- September 1, 1983 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Barrow, Alaska · Umiat · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2, MK-1 DHC-2, MK-
- Registration
- N5147G · registry record · serial 373FM187L
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- 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 COLLIDED WITH A DITCH DURING LANDING. THE SANDBAR USED FOR LANDING HAD A LIGHT COVERING OF SNOW AND A DITCH WASOBSCURED BY THE SNOW. DURING LANDING ROLLOUT THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH THE DITCH AND ONE OF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED. NO MECHANICAL MALFUNCTIONS WERE INVOLVED IN THIS ACCIDENT.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,448 hours in all; 38 in this make and model; 209 in the last 90 days; 5,053 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,138 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 27, 1982; 79 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R985-AN14B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BRW Barrow AK at 2:56 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 8 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N5147G 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.