Amateur-built DHC-6 accident near Mekoryuk, Alaska, February 7, 1986
On February 7, 1986 at about 2:50 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6, registered N204EH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mekoryuk, Alaska (Mekoryuk airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- February 7, 1986 · about 2:50 pm local time · cases in 1986
- Place
- Mekoryuk, Alaska · Mekoryuk · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6
- Registration
- N204EH · registry record · serial 61
- 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 PIC STATED THAT HE WAS LANDING TO THE SOUTHWEST BECAUSE THE FOG WAS OBSCURING THE APCH PATH TO RWY 05. AFTER ALIGNING WITH RWY 23, THE ACFT DRIFTED OFF COURSE. THE PLT WAS ATTEMPTING TO REALIGN THE ACFT WITH THE RWY WHEN HE TOUCHED DOWN IN A BANK AND STRUCK THE RIGHT WING TIP. HE FURTHER STATED HE NEVER REGAINED CONTROL AND THE ACFT DEPARTED THE RWY OFF THE LEFT SIDE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,643 hours in all; 3,888 in this make and model; 9,304 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19,417 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 13, 1986; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,000 lb
- Seats: 16
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Era Helicopters, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BET Bethel AK at 12:45 pm
- Destination: MYU Mekoryuk AK
- Runway 23, 3,500 ft by 50 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Sky: overcast at 1,000 ft; not recorded at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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 N204EH 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
- N204EH on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20A 4 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Mekoryuk Airport · nearest airport
- Bethel Airport · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,932 since 1982 · 826 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N204EH 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/ANC86LA025.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.