Amateur-built DHC-2 MK.1 accident near Tutna Lake, Alaska, August 18, 1985
On August 18, 1985 at about 10:03 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2 MK.1, registered N68085, was destroyed in an accident near Tutna Lake, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were killed. 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 18, 1985 · about 10:03 pm local time
- Place
- Tutna Lake, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2 MK.1
- Registration
- N68085 · registry record · serial 1332
- 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 CRASHED ON THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN AT AN ELEV OF 2200 FT APRX 3 MILES FROM ITS INTENDED DESTINATION, A REMOTE LAKE. PURPOSE OF THE FLT WAS TO DISCHARGE CARIBOU HUNTERS INTO AN AREA WHERE CARIBOU WERE SPOTTED EARLY THAT DAY. THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE. INSPECTION OF THE WRECKAGE FAILED TO REVEAL A MECHANICAL FAILURE/MALFUNCTION.
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
- Flight time: 4,190 hours in all; 406 in this make and model; 290 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,018 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 14, 1985; 23 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985-39-14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: LHD Anchorage AK at 2:30 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:00 pm from ILZ, 60 miles away
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.