Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Merrill Pass, Alaska, September 26, 1985
On September 26, 1985 at about 8:30 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N5317G, was destroyed in an accident near Merrill Pass, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 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
- September 26, 1985 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Merrill Pass, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N5317G · registry record · serial 617
- 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 COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN IN A MOUNTAIN PASS AT AN ELEVATION OF 3600 FT MSL. THE PLT OBTAINED A WX BRIEFING AT 1329 GMT ON 9/26/86 AT WHICH TIME MERRILL PASS WAS FORECAST TO BE CLOSED BY 1100 ADT DUE TO DETERIORATING WX. THE LAST RADIO COMMUNICATION WITH THE ACFT WAS AT 1803 GMT WHEN CONTACT WAS MADE WITH MCGRATH FSS. AT THIS TIME THE PLT MADE A PLT REPORT STATING THE WX AT MERRILL PASS WAS MARGINAL; 2 MILES VIS WITH SNOW AND OCCASIONAL MODERATE TURBULENCE. THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED ON 6/29/85 AND INDICATED THE ACFT CONTACTED THE TERRAIN IN A RELATIVELY LEVEL ATTITUDE WITH CONSIDERABLE AIRSPEED.
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: glider
- Flight time: 4,900 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 4,650 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,640 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 6, 1985; 95 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,090 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985-14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Willow Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: Hidden River AK at 2:30 pm
- Destination: Z22 Willow AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 4,500 ft; not recorded at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 37°F (3°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 2:00 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.