Amateur-built DHC-6 accident near Homer, Alaska, December 4, 1988
On December 4, 1988 at about 12:35 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6, registered N525EH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Homer, Alaska (Homer airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 4, 1988 · about 12:35 pm local time
- Place
- Homer, Alaska · Homer · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6
- Registration
- N525EH · no longer on the register · serial 25
- 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
AFTER LANDING, THE PLT WAS ADVISED TO TAXI TO THE RAMP VIA THE SOUTH TAXIWAY, SINCE THIS WAS THE ONLY TAXIWAY THAT HAD BEEN SNOW PLOWED. ONLY ABOUT A 12 FT WIDTH OF THE 80 FT WIDE TAXIWAY HAD BEEN PLOWED. THE CLEARED PORTION WAS ON THE OUTER EDGE OF THE TAXIWAY, NEXT TO A PERIMETER FENCE. AS THE PLT WAS TAXIING, HIS VISION WAS RESTRICTED BY DARKNESS & BLOWING SNOW. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE RIGHT WING OF THE ACFT STRUCK A FENCE POST WHERE THE PERIMETER FENCE ROSE IN ELEVATION.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,800 hours in all; 2,700 in this make and model; 260 in the last 90 days; 85 in the last 30 days; 4,850 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19,343 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 21, 1988; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,579 lb
- Seats: 17
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Era Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: ANC Anchorage AK at 11:30 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 21, 7,401 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 260° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 16°F (-9°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:30 am from HOM, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.