Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, October 13, 1996
On October 13, 1996 at about 10:55 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N64276, was destroyed in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
continued flight by the pilot into adverse weather condition, and his failure to maintain adequate altitude/clearance from mountainous terrain. Factors related to the accident were the high/mountainous terrain, and weather conditions that included low ceilings.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 13, 1996 · about 10:55 pm local time
- Place
- Ketchikan, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N64276 · no longer on the register · serial 1025
- 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 pilot and two passengers departed for a remote area on an on-demand charter flight in a float-equipped airplane. An emergency locator transmitter signal was heard in the area of the intended destination about 55 minutes after departure. The flight was reported overdue and search personnel located the wreckage at an elevation of about 2,850 feet in mountainous terrain about 2 and 1/2 hours after departure. The airplane collided with terrain below the top of a steep ridge. Search personnel reported the weather conditions in the area included low ceilings. The conditions deteriorated during subsequent rescue operations. The area forecast included an AIRMET for marginal VFR conditions with mountain obscuration due to clouds and precipitation.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,475 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 25, 1996; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,370 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985-39A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 5KE AK at 4:58 pm
- Destination: Rowena Lake AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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 N64276 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.