Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Kodiak, Alaska, September 29, 1996
On September 29, 1996, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N94DG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kodiak, Alaska. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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 compensation for wind conditions. The gusty wind was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 1996
- Place
- Kodiak, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N94DG · registry record · serial 907
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot, the sole occupant, was positioning the float equipped airplane to pick up several passengers from a remote lagoon. After landing, he was step taxiing with the flaps extended. The airplane encountered a strong quartering gust of wind on the left front, which lifted the left wing. The right wing then struck the water, damaging the leading edge of the wingtip, the upper surface of the wing, and the auxiliary fuel tank.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: balloon; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 19,200 hours in all; 650 in this make and model; 344 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 18,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,225 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 21, 1996; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,090 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985-14 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Wilderness Air INC.
The flight
- Departed from: 9Z4 AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 325° at 15 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°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.
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 ANC96LA168.