Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Bering River, Alaska, June 20, 1985
On June 20, 1985 at about 8:20 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N99838, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bering River, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- June 20, 1985 · about 8:20 pm local time
- Place
- Bering River, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N99838 · registry record · serial 792
- 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 STATED THAT DURING A 15 TO 20 MIN PERIOD AFTER HE HAD LANDED, THE WIND VELOCITY INCREASED GREATLY. HE MANAGED TO TAXI THE FLOAT PLANE TO AN AREA WHERE HE COULD TAKEOFF INTO THE WIND. AS THE ACFT WAS ON THE STEP FOR TAKEOFF, THE LEFT WING LIFTED AS IF IT WAS HIT BY A GUST OF WIND. SUSEQUENTLY, THE RIGHT WING TIP STRUCK THE WATER & THE ACFT NOSED OVER. THE PLT ESTIMATED THE WIND WAS FROM THE EAST AT 40 GUSTING TO 50 KTS.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 4,695 hours in all; 1,700 in this make and model; 181 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 4,550 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,856 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 20, 1985; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,090 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: CDV Cordova AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 40 knots, gusting 50
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:45 pm
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 N99838 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.