Amateur-built DHC-3 accident near Mcgrath, Alaska, July 22, 1992
On July 22, 1992 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-3, registered N41755, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mcgrath, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FIRE IN THE ENGINE ACCESSORY DRIVE ASSEMBLY. FACTOR WAS THE ROUGH AN UNEVEN FORCED LANDING AREA.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 22, 1992 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mcgrath, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-3
- Registration
- N41755 · no longer on the register · serial 339
- 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 AIRPLANE WAS IN CRUISE FLIGHT WHEN THE PILOT NOTICED A SLIGHT FIRE SMELL. THE ENGINE BEGAN TO LOSE POWER SLOWLY AND WOULD NOT RESPOND TO ENGINE CONTROL INPUTS. THE PILOT LANDED ON A GRAVEL BAR AND HAD TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE IN THE ENGINE ACCESSORY CASE WITH THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND DIRT. THE AIRPLANE HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED AND THE ENGINE HAS NOT BEEN EXAMINED.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,500 hours in all; 320 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 18 in the last 30 days; 8,045 as pilot in command; 525 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,587 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 10, 1992; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340-AN2 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire in flight and on the ground
- Operator: Woods Air Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 5NI Nikoli AK at 6:10 pm
- Destination: Silvertip Lodge AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.
Other NTSB records under N41755 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.