Amateur-built DHC6-300 accident near Nuuuli, Aq, March 22, 1991
On March 22, 1991 at about 4:20 am local time, a amateur-built DHC6-300, registered N5WFAU, was involved in an accident near Nuuuli (Pago Pago Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). The NTSB record does not give the injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE INADEQUATE LIGHTING OF THE GATE AT THE TERMINAL AND INADEQUATE TRAINING OF THE SECURITY GUARD BY COMPANY PERSONNEL. CONTRIBUTING TO THIS ACCIDENT WAS A DARK NIGHT CONDITION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 22, 1991 · about 4:20 am local time
- Place
- Nuuuli, Antarctica · Pago Pago Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC6-300
- Registration
- N5WFAU · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT TAXIED TO THE GATE AFTER LANDING ON A DARK NIGHT. ALTHOUGH COMPANY INSTRUCTIONS PRESCRIBES THAT A GROUND GUIDE BE ASSIGNED TO DIRECT THE AIRCRAFT TO THE GATE NONE WERE PROVIDED. THE BAGGAGE HANDLERS AND SECURITY GUARD APPROACHED THE AIRCRAFT AS IT STOPPED AT THE GATE AND THE CREW SHUT DOWN THE ENGINES. DUE TO OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS THE AIRCRAFT WAS POSITIONED INTO THE WIND WHEN THE ENGINES WERE SHUT DOWN. THE ANGLE OF THE GATE LIGHTING PLACED THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT AND THE LEFT SPINNING PROPELLER IN SHADOWS. AFTER THE ENGINES WERE SHUT DOWN THE CAPTAIN OPENED THE LEFT COCKPIT DOOR TO EGRESS THE AIRCRAFT AND SAW THE GUARD ON THE GROUND UNDER THE LEFT PROPELLER. THE GUARD HAD BEEN FATALLY INJURED BY THE SPINNING PROPELLER.
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: foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 2,600 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, January 2, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 22
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Polynesian Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: Apia, Wn Samoa
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.