Amateur-built DHC-3 accident near Metlakatla, Alaska, February 4, 1992
On February 4, 1992 at about 3:15 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-3, registered N13GA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Metlakatla, Alaska (Metlakatla 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
TOTAL FAILURE OF THE RIVETS ATTACHING THE TRIM TAB CONTROL HORN TO THE RIGHT ELEVATOR TRIM TAB.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 12, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 4, 1992 · about 3:15 pm local time · cases in 1992
- Place
- Metlakatla, Alaska · Metlakatla · cases near this airport · 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
- N13GA · no longer on the register · serial 179
- 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
WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH FOR LANDING, THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE'S CONTROL YOKE STARTED VIBRATING AND THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE PITCHED DOWN. THE PILOT CORRECTED BY RE-TRIMMING THE AIRPLANE AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. POST-ACCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE RIVETS ATTACHING THE TRIM TAB CONTROL HORN TO THE RIGHT ELEVATOR TRIM TAB HAD PULLED OUT, ALLOWING THE TRIM TAB AND ELEVATOR TO FLUTTER.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,607 hours in all; 66 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,254 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, January 1, 1992; 75 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,967 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340-59 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Taquan Air Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: KTN Ketchikan AK at 3:00 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°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 N13GA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N13GA: not on the register today · the record of its deregistration
- Engine: P&W R-1340-59 1,229 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Metlakatla Seaplane Base · nearest airport
- Ketchikan International · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Alaska 5,930 since 1982 · 824 in the last ten years
- Alaska 9,146 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N13GA 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ANC92LA032.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.