Amateur-built DHC-3 accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, January 15, 1989
On January 15, 1989 at about 12:10 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-3, registered N11250, was destroyed in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S INADVERTANT FLIGHT INTO IFR CONDITIONS AND THE STALL WHICH OCCURRED DURING THE TURN TO REVERSE COURSE. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE SNOW CONDITIONS ENCOUNTERED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 15, 1989 · about 12:10 pm local time
- Place
- Ketchikan, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-3
- Registration
- N11250 · no longer on the register · serial 171
- 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
AFTER DEPARTING THE FLOATPLANE BASE ON A COMPANY VFR FLIGHT PLAN, THE SCHEDULED COMMUTER FLIGHT PROCEEDED NORTHWEST ALONG A SALT WATER STRAIT AT A LOW ALTITUDE ABOVE WATER. TWO MILES NW OF THE ARPT THE ACFT ENTERED A SNOW SQUALL AND THE PILOT ATTEMPTED A STEEP TURN TO REVERSE COURSE. DURING THE TURN THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED AND SANK IN 167 FT DEEP WATER. SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS WERE SUSPENDED AFTER 4 DAYS.
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
- Flight time: 1,470 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 1,450 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,366 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 23, 1988; 62 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,967 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340-59 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: 5KE Ketchikan AK at 12:00 pm
- Destination: 9Z0 Klawock AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 75 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,200 ft; scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:17 pm from KTN, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N11250 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.