Amateur-built DHC2 accident near Whittier, Alaska, September 17, 1994
On September 17, 1994 at about 8:00 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC2, registered N1433Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Whittier, Alaska (Culross Passage airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE IN-FLIGHT PLANNING AND INADEQUATE COMPENSATION FOR THE WIND CONDITIONS. AN INITIAL TAIL WIND AND LATER A CROSSWIND WERE FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 17, 1994 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Whittier, Alaska · Culross Passage · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC2
- Registration
- N1433Z · registry record · serial 595
- 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 PILOT WAS LANDING A FLOAT EQUIPPED AIRPLANE IN A SMALL HARBOR ADJACENT TO AN OCEAN CHANNEL. THE ON-DEMAND CHARTER FLIGHT WAS TRANSPORTING FIVE PASSENGERS TO A REMOTE CABIN. DUE TO LARGE OCEAN SWELLS IN THE CHANNEL, THE PILOT ELECTED TO LAND IN THE HARBOR AND DURING THE LANDING RUNOUT, ENCOUNTERED A TAILWIND THAT EXTENDED THE WATER RUN. AS THE AIRPLANE TRAVELED ABEAM A BREAK IN THE SHORELINE AT THE HARBOR ENTRANCE, IT WAS HIT BY AN UNEXPECTED GUST OF WIND FROM THE RIGHT. THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO TURN TOWARD THE RIGHT. ALL ATTEMPTS BY THE PILOT TO CONTROL THE AIRCRAFT WERE INEFFECTIVE. THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A BEACH AREA AT THE NORTH END OF THE HARBOR.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: helicopter; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,501 hours in all; 4,864 in this make and model; 366 in the last 90 days; 116 in the last 30 days; 9,439 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,150 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 31, 1994; 85 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,370 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LHD Anchorage AK at 2:30 pm
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 15 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,700 ft; scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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 N1433Z the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC94LA142.