Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Near Klawock, Alaska, December 9, 1982
On December 9, 1982 at about 9:10 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N68081, was destroyed in an accident near Near Klawock, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 8 people were killed. 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 9, 1982 · about 9:10 pm local time
- Place
- Near Klawock, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 8 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N68081 · no longer on the register · serial 906
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT 1236 THE FLT DEPARTED KETCHIKAN SEAPLANE BASE WITH A SPECIAL VFR CLEARANCE & AT 1240 REPORTED CLEAR OF THE CONTROL ZONE. THE NEXT & LAST TRANSMISSION BY THE PLT WAS MADE TO THE COMPANY VIA FM RADIO AT ABOUT 1340. THIS REPORT WAS ISSUEDIN THE VICINITY OF HAPPY HARBOR (PASSING OVER KASAAN ISLAND) & WAS THE APPROXIMATE MID-POINT OF THE FLT TO CRAIG. WITNESSES REPORTED SEEING THE ACFT FLYING SW OVER TWELVEMILE ARM TOWARD HOLLIS. UPON REACHING HOLLIS THE FLT WOULD BE EXPECTED TO TURN WEST & CROSS INLAND OVER PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND UNTIL REACHING THE WEST SHORELINE & THENCE DIRECTLY TO CRAIG. THERE WAS A FOG BANK ABOUT 2 MI PRIOR TO HOLLIS IN TWELVEMILE ARM & THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO REVERSE COURSE AS THE WX WAS APPROACHED & PROCEED NORTH. THE ACFT WAS LOST FROM SIGHT DUE TO TREES & RAPIDLY UPSLOPING TERRAIN. AN INCREASE IN ENG SOUND WAS HEARD PRIOR TO THE CRASH. WITNESSES DESCRIBED THE CLOUDS AS ESSENTIALLY BROKEN WITH BASES AT ABOUT 1000 FT OVER THE WATER & OBSTRUCTING THE TOPS OF SOME OF THE HIGHER ISLANDS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,683 hours in all; 1,105 in this make and model; 109 in the last 90 days; 67 in the last 30 days; 3,242 as pilot in command; 307 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,735 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 73 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,090 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P & W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Tyee Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: C Ketchikan AK at 12:36 pm
- Destination: C Craig AK
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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.