Amateur-built DHC-6-300 accident near Hailey, Idaho, February 15, 1983
On February 15, 1983 at about 6:02 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6-300, registered N361V, was destroyed in an accident near Hailey, Idaho (Friedman Memoriel airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 7 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- February 15, 1983 · about 6:02 pm local time
- Place
- Hailey, Idaho · Friedman Memoriel · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 7 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6-300
- Registration
- N361V · registry record · serial 361
- 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 ACFT WAS LESS THAN 2 MILES FROM THE ARPT OF INTENDED LANDING DURING THE APPROACH WHEN THE CREW EXPERIENCED A LOSS OFELEVATOR CONTROL. THE ACFT STARTED DIVING TOWARD THE GROUND WHEN THE POWER WAS REDUCED. THE PLT APPLIED FULL POWER TO TRY AND RESTORE LEVEL FLT. THE CREW DID NOT RECALL USING THE ELEVATOR TRIM TO RAISE THE ACFT NOSE. THE APPLICATION OF POWER ACCELERATED THE RAISING OF THE NOSE WHICH WOULD HAVE RAISED AT A SLOWER RATE USING ONLY THE ACCELERATION OF THE DIVE. THE CAPT COULD NOT REACH THE ARPT RWY BUT WAS ABLE TO ALIGN WITH AND LAND ON A HIWAY. THE NOSE WAS STILL DOWN AND THE ACFT DESCENDING WITH THE AIRSPEED AT 120 KTS WHEN THE ACFT CONTACTED THE HIWAY AND CARTWHEELED INTO A SNOWBANK ALONGSIDE THE ROAD. AN EXAM OF THE ELEVATOR CONTROL REVEALED A PUSH-PULL ROD HAD BECOME DISCONNECTED FROM AN ELEVATOR TORQUE TUBE. THE CONTROL HAD BEEN DISCONNECTED WHEN THE ACFT WAS PAINTED IN 12/81 & WAS RECONNECTED WITH A NONSTANDARD, UNSECURED BOLT. MAINT RECORDS WERE SKETCHY AS TO THE PROCEDURES DURING THIS MAINT. FAA SURVEILLANCE DID'NT DETECT PRBLM.
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; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 164 in the last 90 days; 73 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,767 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 5, 1983; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BOI Boise ID at 5:20 pm
- Destination: SUN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 31, 6,600 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 5 | 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.
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.