Amateur-built DHC-3 accident near Healy, Alaska, April 27, 1999
On April 27, 1999 at about 9:15 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-3, registered N3125N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Healy, Alaska (Daniels Strip airport). 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 selection of an unsafe/hazardous area for landing. Factors in the accident were the presence of a tail wind, the pilot's inadequate evaluation of the wind conditions, and a narrow airstrip.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 1999 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Healy, Alaska · Daniels Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-3
- Registration
- N3125N · registry record · serial 394
- 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 certificated airline transport pilot was landing a tailwheel equipped airplane on a remote airstrip located on a ridge line. The on-demand air taxi flight was the pilot's third landing of the day on the airstrip. The airstrip is oriented east/west, and is about 1,500 feet long and about 10 feet wide. The pilot said the airstrip is a one-way airstrip, with landings performed toward the west. The strip is flat for about half of the length, and then proceeds uphill. During the landing, the pilot touched down on the strip on the main landing gear. Before the tail wheel touched down, a gust of wind pushed the airplane off the left side of the strip. The leading edge of the left wing struck a tree, damaging the wing tip and wing nose ribs. The pilot said a tail wind was present, about 15 knots from 090 degrees.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,600 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 4,300 as pilot in command; 650 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 25, 1998; 54 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pezetel ASZ-62IR-M18 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Forty Mile Air LTD.
The flight
- Departed from: FAI Fairbanks AK at 1:00 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 27, 1,500 ft by 10 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°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 N3125N 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.