Amateur-built DHC-4 accident near Sable Island Ns, Ca, October 23, 1984
On October 23, 1984 at about 7:07 am local time, a amateur-built DHC-4, registered N5488R, was destroyed in an accident near Sable Island Ns. It was a ferry flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 23, 1984 · about 7:07 am local time
- Place
- Sable Island Ns, Canada
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-4
- Registration
- N5488R · no longer on the register · serial 216
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Ferry flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
PLT DITCHED ACFT IN ATLANTIC OCEAN FOLLOWING A LOSS OF POWER DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION. CO-PILOT STATED THEY WERE AWARE OF BAD WX ALONG THE ROUTE BUT THE PLT WAS ANXIOUS TO GET TO THEIR DESTINATION. HEADWINDS ENCOUNTERED EN ROUTE WERE STRONGER THEN EXPECTED. CO-PILOT STATED THEY HAD SHUT DOWN ONE OF THE ENGINES APRX 1/2 HOUR BEFORE THE DITCHING IN AN EFFORT TO CONSERVE FUEL.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 50,000 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 22, 1984
- Maximum gross weight: 28,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-2000-7M2 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Santa Maria at 11:00 pm
- Destination: TEB Teterboro NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 270° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,500 ft; scat at 500 ft
- Temperature: 10°F (-12°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 am from YYT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 |
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.