Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Iliamna, Alaska, August 25, 1999
On August 25, 1999 at about 2:20 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N930TG, was substantially damaged in an accident near Iliamna, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 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 unsuitable takeoff area, and an inadvertent stall. Factors associated with the accident were large wave/swells, and low light conditions (dawn).
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 1999 · about 2:20 pm local time
- Place
- Iliamna, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N930TG · no longer on the register · serial 1041
- 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 commercial pilot was attempting to takeoff from a lake with 2 feet tall, rolling swells. The pilot said that during the takeoff run, before a safe flying airspeed was attained, the airplane floats struck a large wave, and the airplane lifted off the water prematurely. He said that before he could react, the left wing stalled, and the airplane collided with the water. During the collision, the floats were torn off the airplane, and the airplane sank. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and wings. The closest official weather observation station is Iliamna. On August 25, 1999, at 0553, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting in part: Wind, 259 degrees (magnetic) at 7 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; clouds, 7,500 feet broken; temperature, 51 degrees F; dew point, 46 degrees F; altimeter, 29.52 inHg. Official civil twilight for Iliamna was at 0610.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,400 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 7,300 as pilot in command; 250 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,661 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 20, 1999; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ILI AK at 9:20 am
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 259° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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 N930TG 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.