Hughes 500C accident near Pelican, Alaska, September 25, 1983
On September 25, 1983 at about 3:45 am local time, a Hughes 500C (helicopter), registered N9243F, was destroyed in an accident near Pelican, Alaska. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 1983 · about 3:45 am local time
- Place
- Pelican, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Hughes 500C
- Registration
- N9243F · registry record · serial 714S
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH GLASSY WATER DURING AN APPROACH TO LAND IN MARGINAL WEATHER ON A DARK NIGHT. THE ACFT WAS DAMAGEDAND SANK BUT THE OCCUPANTS ESCAPED WITH NO INJURIES. THE ACFT SANK IN WATER THAT IS OVER 60 FT DEEP. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE SHOULD NOT HAVE FLOWN ON A DARK NIGHT INTO MARGINAL WEATHER CONDITIONS. HE SAID THE VISIBILITY WAS ABOUT 3 MILESIN RAIN AND FOG AT THE ACCIDENT SITE.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,115 hours in all; 1,470 in this make and model; 244 in the last 90 days; 6,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,242 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 9, 1983; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,550 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Allison 250-C20 (turboshaft); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PEC Pelican AK at 3:40 am
- Destination: Yakobi Island AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA83LA207.