Amateur-built DHC-6-200 accident near Hooper Bay, Alaska, May 16, 1982
On May 16, 1982 at about 6:15 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6-200, registered N103AQ, was destroyed in an accident near Hooper Bay, Alaska (Hooper Bay airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 8 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 16, 1982 · about 6:15 pm local time
- Place
- Hooper Bay, Alaska · Hooper Bay
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 8 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6-200
- Registration
- N103AQ · no longer on the register · serial 183
- 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
AT 0833 ADT, THE ACFT DEPARTED BETHEL, AK ON A SCHEDULED PAX/CARGO COMMUTER FLT TO CHEVAK, SCAMMON BAY & HOOPER BAY, AK. THE OPERATOR'S COMMUTER FLTS HAD NOT LANDED AT SCAMMON BAY FOR SVRL DAYS SINCE THE RWY WAS SOFT & MUDDY FROM MELTINGSNOW. BFR DEPARTING CHEVAK, 902 LBS OF MAIL & BAGGAGE WAS PLACED IN THE AFT BAGGAGE COMPARTMENT. ALSO, 2 PAX'S WERE ASKED TO SIT IN THE MOST AFT SEATS "TO LIGHTEN THE NOSE." AT SCAMMON BAY, THE UNEVENTFUL LNDG WAS MADE FROM A SHALLOW APCH WITH HI PWR. AFTER LANDING, 278 LBS OF MAIL WAS REMOVED FROM THE NOSE COMPARTMENT, LEAVING IT EMPTY, & 191 LBS OF CARGO WAS REMOVED FROM THE CABIN. THIS WAS DONE WITH 1 ENG RUNNING, NO OTR LOAD CHGS WERE MADE BFR TKOF. THE PAX RPRTD THAT DRG APCH TO HOOPER BAY, THE PWR WAS REDUCED ON A SOMEWHAT STEEPER APCH & THE SQUARE (FLAP) HNDL WAS MVD. THEY RPRTDTHAT SOON THEREAFTER, THE NOSE PITCHED UP & STALL WRNG SOUNDED. THE PLANE CRASHED APRX 1320 FT SHORT OF RWY 13. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE CG WAS APRX 7.7% BHND THE MAX AFT LMT. NO PREIMPACT, MECHANICAL FAILURE WAS FOUND.
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; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,550 hours in all; 1,100 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,267 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 159 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,000 lb
- Seats: 16
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P & W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Gifford Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: C Bethel AK at 8:33 am
- Destination: C Hooper Bay AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 13, 3,600 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 20 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 20,000 ft; scat at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 95°F (35°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.
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.