Dehavilland DHC-6 TWIN OTTER accident near Tullahoma, Tennessee, June 8, 2025
On June 8, 2025 at about 5:20 pm local time, a 1967 Dehavilland DHC-6 TWIN OTTER, registered N166DH, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Tullahoma, Tennessee (Tullahoma Rgnl/Wm Northern Fld airport). It was a skydiving flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 6 people were seriously injured; 15 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 2025 · about 5:20 pm local time
- Place
- Tullahoma, Tennessee · Tullahoma Rgnl/Wm Northern Fld · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were seriously injured; 15 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dehavilland DHC-6 TWIN OTTER, built 1967 · all DHC-6 TWIN OTTERs on the register
- Registration
- N166DH · registry record · serial 66
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Skydiving flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On June 8, 2025, about 1220 central daylight time, a DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, N166DH, was involved in an accident near Tullahoma, Tennessee. The commercial pilot and five passengers were seriously injured, and 15 passengers were not injured. The flight was being conducted as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 skydiving flight. The pilot was attempting to take off from runway 24 at the Tullahoma Regional Airport (THA), Tullahoma, TN. The accident flight was his fourth flight in the airplane that day. The pilot stated the takeoff was normal and he raised the flaps once the airplane was clear of obstacles. When the airplane was about 500 ft above the ground, the pilot noticed asymmetrical thrust on the engines while syncing the propellers. He said, “In the following seconds, I continued trying to sync the props and was getting unusual feedback in the controls. I didn’t notice any loss of power in the gauges, but something felt a miss.” The pilot lowered the nose of the airplane and saw the altitude level off, and airspeed decrease. The pilot determined that the left engine had lost power. He initiated “engine out procedures” and turned left, back to the airport to try and land on runway 36. The pilot could not remember if he secured the left engine; however, he did remember adding flaps as per the engine-out procedures. The pilot said he tried to maintain airspeed above the single-engine minimum control speed (Vmc), but the airplane continued to descend. The pilot was unable to make it back to the airport and chose to land in a field. There were two trees in the field that he was unable to avoid, and the airplane impacted the trees. The airplane came to rest upright, but the left wing, left engine and the tail section separated from the airframe, resulting in substantial damage. The right wing and engine remained secured to the airframe. There was no postimpact fire. The airplane wreckage was recovered and taken to a secure facility for further examination.
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
What happened, in order
- Collision during takeoff/land during takeoff
- Loss of engine power (partial) during takeoff defining event
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,616 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 10, 2024
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 06/2, 5,501 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 3,800 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.86 inHg
- Observation at 12:35 pm from KTHA
Weather report (METAR): METAR KTHA 081735Z AUTO 27014KT 10SM FEW038 FEW044 SCT055 27/18 A2986
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 | 15 |
Other NTSB records under N166DH the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA25LA222.