Amateur-built DHC-6-6 accident near Elberta, Alabama, November 8, 1997
On November 8, 1997 at about 7:15 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6-6, registered N1022S, suffered minor damage in an accident near Elberta, Alabama (Horak airport). It was a skydiving flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 17 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a passenger's inadvertent encounter with a rotating propeller.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 8, 1997 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Elberta, Alabama · Horak · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 17 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6-6
- Registration
- N1022S · registry record · serial 79
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Skydiving flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the loading of 17 parachutists, a 31-year-old male parachutist notified the loader/jump master that on his next jump he would have a smoke canister on the airplane and that the pilot should be notified. The loader/jump master told him, '...that to notify the pilot would be his (the loader's) job, that he [the parachutist] was just to board the aircraft.' The loader started boarding the jumpers and he went forward to give the pilot the information. The loader/jump master said, '...disregarding [his] the loaders instructions the subject walked from the rear left area and proceeded straight to the cockpit door where the loader and pilot were. In spite of several people hollering at him the subject walked into the left side engine 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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: balloon; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,816 hours in all; 200 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 23,552 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 10, 1997; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,579 lb
- Seats: 12
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7J9
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:58 pm from MOB, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.
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.