Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Zacher Bay, Alaska, September 24, 1988
On September 24, 1988 at about 2:50 am local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N53546, was substantially damaged in an accident near Zacher Bay, 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
- September 24, 1988 · about 2:50 am local time
- Place
- Zacher Bay, 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
- N53546 · registry record · serial 887
- 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 STATED THAT DURING THE TAKEOFF RUN ON THE WATER, HE LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE, DUE TO THE HIGH WIND CONDITION. THE AIRPLANE'S WING TIP STRUCK THE WATER CAUSING THE AIRPLANE TO NOSE OVER ON ITS BACK.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 9,115 hours in all; 658 in this make and model; 394 in the last 90 days; 96 in the last 30 days; 8,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,837 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 1988; 166 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,090 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Uyak Air Serivce INC.
The flight
- Destination: ADQ Kodiak AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 15 knots, gusting 30
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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 N53546 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.