Helio H-250 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, November 1, 1984
On November 1, 1984 at about 4:02 am local time, a Helio H-250, registered N5450E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska (Merrill airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 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
- November 1, 1984 · about 4:02 am local time · cases in 1984
- Place
- Anchorage, Alaska · Merrill · 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
- Helio H-250 · all H-250s on the register
- Registration
- N5450E · registry record · serial 2507
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT STATED DURING TWO TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS THAT HE HIT TREES DURING TAKEOFF AND THEN CONTINUED HIS TWO HOUR FLT TO TO THE HOMER ARPT. THE LEFT WING WAS DAMAGED AND BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WERE CRUSHED ANDBENT UP ABOUT 19 DEGREES. THE ACFT WAS LANDED AT HOMER WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 357 hours in all; 282 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 330 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,350 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 29, 1984; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: MRI Anchorage AK at 3:02 am
- Destination: HOM Homer AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 15, 2,469 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 6,000 ft; scat
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 21°F (-6°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 N5450E 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
- N5450E on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Helio H-250 11 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Helio 120 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming O-540 5,245 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Merrill Field · nearest airport
- Homer Airport · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 823 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,144 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N5450E 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/ANC85LA019.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.