Amateur-built DHC-3 accident near Eagle, Alaska, June 2, 1988
On June 2, 1988, a amateur-built DHC-3, registered N3125N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Eagle, Alaska (Eagle airport). 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 2, 1988
- Place
- Eagle, Alaska · Eagle · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-3
- Registration
- N3125N · registry record · serial 394
- 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 PILOT WAS ATTEMPTING TO LAND A HEAVILY LOADED DE HAVILLAND OTTER (DHC-3) ON A GRAVEL STRIP IN RURAL ALASKA. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE VEERED SLIGHTLY TO THE RIGHT. HE UNLOCKED THE TAIL WHEEL CENTERING DEVICE AND ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT TO THE LEFT (INTO THE PREVAILING CROSSWIND). THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO THE LEFT OUT OF CONTROL AND DOWN A 30-45 DEGREE EMBANKMENT BEFORE COMING TO A STOP.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 3,450 hours in all; 188 in this make and model; 310 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 3,250 as pilot in command; 104 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,160 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 23, 1988; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FAI Fairbanks AK
- Destination: EAA Eagle AK
- Runway 6, 3,500 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 80 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N3125N 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.