Fairchild Hiller FH-100 accident near Glennallen, Alaska, March 4, 1984
On March 4, 1984 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Fairchild Hiller FH-100 (helicopter), registered N5051F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Glennallen, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 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
- March 4, 1984 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Glennallen, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild Hiller FH-100
- Registration
- N5051F · no longer on the register · serial 197
- 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 PLT EXPERIENCED A DOWNDRAFT, WHILE APPROACHING A GLACIER AT 5500 FT MSL. IN TURNING DOWNGRADE TO TRY TO AFFECT A DESCENT OF THE ACFT, CONTROL WAS LOST AND THE HELICOPTER COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND. THE ACFT ROLLED INVERTED AFTER 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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 7,300 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 6 in the last 30 days; 6,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,598 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 31, 1983; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,750 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C18 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
- Operator: Gulkana Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: GKN Glennallen AK at 10:15 am
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 20 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 7,000 ft; not recorded at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 1°F (-17°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.