Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Bulchitna Lake, Alaska, June 23, 1986
On June 23, 1986 at about 1:00 am local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N67686, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bulchitna Lake, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 23, 1986 · about 1:00 am local time
- Place
- Bulchitna Lake, Alaska
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N67686 · no longer on the register · serial 1230
- 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 AIRPLANE STRUCK A WINGTIP ON THE WATER WHILE STEP TAXIING DOWNWIND ATTEMPTING A LEFT TURN.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,180 hours in all; 350 in this make and model; 125 in the last 90 days; 12,180 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,888 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 20, 1986; 86 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,090 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W 985-ANI (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: Z41 Anchorage AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 90 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 600 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.
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.