Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Pelican, Alaska, April 19, 1989
On April 19, 1989 at about 9:15 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N62873, was destroyed in an accident near Pelican, 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
IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT DECISION BY THE PILOT, AND HIS INADVERTENT FLIGHT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC). THE TERRAIN AND WEATHER CONDITIONS WERE CONSIDERED TO BE FACTORS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 19, 1989 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Pelican, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-2
- Registration
- N62873 · registry record · serial 323
- 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
DRG A FLT FROM JUNEAU TO PELICAN, AK, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN APRX 12 MI EAST OF PELICAN WHILE CROSSING OVER CHICHAGOF ISLAND. IMPACT OCCURRED ON A VERTICAL ROCK WALL AT AN ELEVATION OF ABOUT 1950 FT. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OF THE ACFT WAS EVIDENT. ANOTHER PLT, WHO HAD PLANNED TO FLY THE SAME ROUTE ABOUT 1 HR & 45 MIN EARLIER, DECIDED TO FLY AROUND THE ISLAND DUE TO LOW CLOUDS, RAIN & FOG IN THE AREA. HE RPRTD THAT HE FLEW OVER ICY STRAITS RATHER THAN TAKE A MORE DIRECT ROUTE & THAT CEILINGS WERE ABOUT 2000 FT BROKEN WITH LOWER STRATUS IN THE VALLEYS. A HELICOPTER PLT SAID HE WAS UNABLE TO WORK IN MOUNTAIN PASSES IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACDNT DUE TO LOW CLOUDS, RAIN & FOG; HE ALSO SAID THE PASSES WERE 'SOCKED IN.'
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,800 hours in all; 460 in this make and model; 95 in the last 90 days; 55 in the last 30 days; 4,753 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 18,800 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 12, 1989; 28 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,100 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985-AN1-4B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: JNU Juneau AK at 7:30 pm
- Destination: PEC Pelican AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 13 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:30 pm from JNU, 25 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.
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.