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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 1, 1983 · about 10:15 pm local time · cases in 1983
- Place
- Barrow, Alaska · Umiat · cases near this airport · 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
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N5147G on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: P&W R985-AN14B 77 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Umiat Airport · nearest airport
- Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,144 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N5147G 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC83LA158.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.