Grumman G-21A accident near Dillingham, Alaska, July 27, 1996
On July 27, 1996 at about 2:00 am local time, a Grumman G-21A, registered N4763C, was involved in an accident near Dillingham, 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 pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout in order to see and avoid all ground personnel, his failure to follow company procedures and directives regarding Public Protection, and his disregard of the unsafe/hazardous conditions created by ground personnel in the intended area of taxi.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 27, 1996 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Dillingham, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-21A · all G-21As on the register
- Registration
- N4763C · no longer on the register · serial B-86
- 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
The pilot was returning to a gravel beach site with his amphibious airplane where he had off-loaded passengers and cargo about 1-1/2 hours earlier. He landed on an adjoining lake, and taxied up the inclined shoreline onto the beach towards where his previous load of passengers had established a camp. While taxiing on the beach, the pilot turned the airplane to the left to complete a 180-degree turn and face the lake he had just landed on. During the turn, the tail of the airplane struck one bystander, and narrowly missed another. The pilot stated that he saw several people on the beach, but did not see the individual he hit. The air taxi company's operations manual states that it is the pilot's responsibility to afford 'public protection' while the airplane is being operated in the vicinity of ground personnel.
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; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 1996; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,920 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Grumman G-21A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DLG
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°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 N4763C 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.