Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Kasaan, Alaska, December 14, 1988
On December 14, 1988 at about 7:05 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N89U, was destroyed in an accident near Kasaan, Alaska (Kasaan Spb airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed and 2 people were seriously injured. 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 14, 1988 · about 7:05 pm local time
- Place
- Kasaan, Alaska · Kasaan Spb
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N89U · no longer on the register · serial 160
- 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
THE PLT PLANNED TO LAND AT A SEAPLANE BASE THAT WAS LOCATED IN A BOWL-SHAPED COVE. DRG THE LANDING, THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN LONG ON WATER SWELLS & THE PLT ELECTED TO GO AROUND. WITNESSES RPRTD THAT DRG THE GO-AROUND, THE PLT INITIATED A STEEP TURN WHILE STILL AT LOW ALT TO AVOID BUILDINGS & RISING TERRAIN. HOWEVER, THE ACFT ENTERED A STEEP DSCNT & CRASHED ON A WOODEN WALKWAY ALONG THE SHORELINE NEAR THE SEAPLANE DOCK. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT OR ENG WAS EVIDENT.
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: single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,752 hours in all; 1,565 in this make and model; 302 in the last 90 days; 76 in the last 30 days; 2,543 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 15,639 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 1988; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN14B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Ketchikan Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: KTB Thorne River AK at 6:45 pm
- Destination: KXA
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 35 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:55 pm from KTN, 26 miles away
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.
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.