Amateur-built DHC-6-300 accident near Halawa,Molokai, Hawaii, October 29, 1989
On October 29, 1989 at about 4:37 am local time, a amateur-built DHC-6-300, registered N707PV, was destroyed in an accident near Halawa,Molokai, Hawaii. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 20 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE AIRPLANE'S CONTROLLED FLIGHT INTO TERRAIN AS A RESULT OF THE DECISION OF THE CAPTAIN TO CONTINUE FLIGHT UNDER VISUAL FLIGHT RULES AT NIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), WHICH OBSCURED RISING MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS: THE INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF PERSONNEL, TRAINING, AND OPERATIONS BY ALOHA ISLANDAIR MANAGEMENT AND INSUFFICIENT OVERSIGHT OF ALOHA ISLANDAIR BY THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION PARTICULARILY DURING A PERIOD OF RAPID OPERATIONAL EXPANSION. (REF: NTSB/AAR-90/05)
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 29, 1989 · about 4:37 am local time
- Place
- Halawa,Molokai, Hawaii
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 20 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6-300
- Registration
- N707PV · registry record · serial 400
- 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
DE HAVILLAND DHC-6, N707PV (ALOHA ISLANDAIR FLT 1712), COLLIDED WITH MOUNTAINOUS/HILLY TERRAIN NEAR HALAWA BAY, HI, WHILE EN ROUTE ON A SCHEDULED PASSENGER FLT AT NIGHT FROM MAUI TO MOLOKAI, HI. IMPACT OCCURRED AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 500 FT, SHORTLY AFTER THE ACFT HAD DESCENDED OVER WATER, THEN CROSSED THE SHORELINE. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THE CAPTAIN HAD MADE A NAVIGATIONAL ERROR & MISTAKENLY BELIEVED THAT HE WAS CIRCUMNAVIGATING THE NORTHERN PORTION OF MOKOKAI ISLAND. THE ACFT CRASHED WHILE ON A HEADING THAT WAS PARALLEL WITH THE ISLAND'S NORTHERN SHORELINE. LOW CLOUDS OBSCURED THE MTN TOPS IN THE AREA OF THE ACDNT. THERE WAS ALSO EVIDENCE OF INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF PSNL, TRAINING & OPNS BY ALOHA ISLANDAIR MANAGEMENT & INSUFFICIENT OVERSIGHT OF ALOHA ISLANDAIR BY THE FAA DURING A PERIOD OF ALOHA ISLANDAIR'S RAPID OPNL EXPANSION.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,542 hours in all; 1,668 in this make and model; 259 in the last 90 days; 67 in the last 30 days; 1,811 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19,875 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 19, 1989; 59 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: OGG Maui HI at 4:15 am
- Destination: MKK Molokai HI
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 050° at 11 knots
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 18 |
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.