Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Kodiak, Alaska, August 7, 1994
On August 7, 1994 at about 9:55 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N126UA, was destroyed in an accident near Kodiak, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 6 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT OF THE VFR ONLY FLIGHT INTENTIONALLY ENTERED INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT WERE THE INADEQUATE PROCEDURES/DIRECTIVES BY THE COMPANY/OPERATOR MANAGEMENT CONCERNING CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT IN MARGINAL WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE FOG.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 7, 1994 · about 9:55 pm local time
- Place
- Kodiak, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N126UA · no longer on the register · serial 1400
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The VFR only part 135 on demand sightseeing flight entered instrument meteorological conditions and collided with terrain. The surviving passenger reported that as the flight progressed, the ceiling and visibility deteriorated. Witnesses in the area reported heavy fog and estimated the ceiling and visibility to be 50 feet and one-fourth of a mile. The company's training program and operations policies and procedures did not address VFR flight in marginal weather conditions.
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: 1,023 hours in all; 139 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 33 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 22,159 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 24, 1994; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,370 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ADQ AK at 4:05 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 50 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 | 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.