Amateur-built DHC-8 accident near Honolulu, Hawaii, December 16, 1996
On December 16, 1996 at about 7:09 am local time, a amateur-built DHC-8, registered N801WP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Honolulu, Hawaii (Honolulu International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 13 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A failure of the normal landing gear extension system due to a hydraulic leak, and the failure of the airplane's emergency landing gear extension system due to inadequate servicing by company maintenance personnel. Factors were the emergency landing gear extension systems dirty and binding condition, a worn emergency landing gear extension cable, and the training simulator's lack of fidelity concerning the force required to operate the emergency gear extension T-handle.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 16, 1996 · about 7:09 am local time
- Place
- Honolulu, Hawaii · Honolulu International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 13 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-8
- Registration
- N801WP · registry record · serial 086
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Hydraulic fluid was leaking from a deteriorated O-ring in the landing gear selector solenoid valve, rendering the normal landing gear extension system inoperative. The crew actuated the alternate gear extension system and was unable to extend the right main landing gear. The first officer pulled the main landing gear alternate extension cable until it stopped and the right main landing gear uplock actuator did not release. On advice from company maintenance, after completing the alternate gear extension procedure, the crew retracted the nose gear and the left main gear using the normal system and then attempted another normal extension. Only the left main landing gear extended. The airplane's number 2 hydraulic system was depleted with 1.5 quarts of fluid remaining. The crew attempted another retraction to raise the left main landing gear without success. The captain then landed the airplane with only the left main landing gear extended. Examination of the alternate gear system revealed the main gear extension cable would bind after the left main landing gear uplock actuator would release. Subsequent testing of the system while the airplane was on jack stands reduced the binding, but in all tests the left main landing gear uplock actuator would release before the right uplock actuator. Examination of the main landing gear alternate extension cable revealed the plastic coating was missing in two places adjacent to a pulley. The right main landing gear wheel well was excessively dirty with areas of exfoliated white paint, exposing the underlying primer.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,801 hours in all; 737 in this make and model; 128 in the last 90 days; 61 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 8, 1996
- Maximum gross weight: 34,500 lb
- Seats: 39
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW 121 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Aloha Islandair INC.
The flight
- Departed from: LNY Lanai HI at 5:58 am
- Destination: HNL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4L, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 360° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:10 am from HNL, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 10 |
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.