Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, June 25, 1987
On June 25, 1987 at about 5:10 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N1454T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- June 25, 1987 · about 5:10 pm local time
- Place
- Ketchikan, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N1454T · no longer on the register · serial 1625TB15
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON LANDING AT KETCHIKAN AIRPORT THE PILOT STATED HE MADE A LAST MINUTE RUNWAY CHANGE DUE TO DEPARTING TRAFFIC. TURNING BASE THE PILOT REDUCED POWER TO IDLE. HE THEN ADVANCED THE THROTTLE AND RECEIVED NO RESPONSE. THE PILOT COULD NOT MAKE THE RUNWAY AND ELECTED TO MAKE A WATER LANDING WITH THE LANDING GEAR DOWN. ON LANDING THE AIRCRAFT FLIPPED OVER INVERTED.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 19,750 hours in all; 19,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,822 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,090 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A20 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ketchikan Air Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: Clover Bay AK at 12:00 pm
- Destination: KTN
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 35 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 15,000 ft; scat at 3,200 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 am from KTN, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.