Amateur-built DHC-6-300 accident near Grand Canyon, Arizona, June 29, 1987
On June 29, 1987 at about 7:57 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6-300, registered N74GC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grand Canyon, Arizona (Grand Canyon National Prk airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 18 people were on board or involved. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 29, 1987 · about 7:57 pm local time · cases in 1987
- Place
- Grand Canyon, Arizona · Grand Canyon National Prk · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 18 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6-300
- Registration
- N74GC · registry record · serial 559
- 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
WHILE TAXIING FOR TAKEOFF, THE UNDERSIDE OF THE LEFT WING STRUCK THE BOOM OF A BACKHOE PARKED ADJACENT TO THE AIRCRAFT RAMP. THE UNATTENDED BACKHOE WAS PARKED IN A DIRT AREA ADJACENT TO THE RAMP WITH THE BOOM IN THE EXTENDED POSITION WHILE THE OPERATOR WAS ON HIS LUNCH BREAK.
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: 4,706 hours in all; 346 in this make and model; 313 in the last 90 days; 4,524 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19,408 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 15, 1987; 92 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Runway 21, 8,999 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:45 pm from GCN
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 16 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N74GC on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 28 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Grand Canyon Ntl Park Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in Arizona 2,985 since 1982 · 467 in the last ten years
- Arizona 8,436 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX87LA250.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.