Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Finger Lake, Alaska, March 3, 1991
On March 3, 1991 at about 5:50 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N5349G, was involved in an accident near Finger Lake, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 5 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE DURING THE LANDING ROLL. A FACTOR WAS THE ROUGH AND UNEVEN TERRAIN.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 3, 1991 · about 5:50 pm local time
- Place
- Finger Lake, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N5349G · registry record · serial 812
- Damage
- Not recorded
- 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 ON A SNOW COVERED LAKE AND DURING THE ROLLOUT, THE PILOT LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE. THE AIRPLANE VEERED OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE LANDING AREA, TRAVELED APPROXIMATELY 25 FEET AND STRUCK TWO PARKED PIPER PA 18 AIRPLANES AND INJURED ONE BYSTANDER.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,480 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 55 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 12,000 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,453 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 31, 1990; 16 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,370 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SKW Skwentna AK at 5:10 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N5349G 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.