Amateur-built DHC-2 accident near Ketchikan, Alaska, May 30, 1990
On May 30, 1990 at about 1:30 am local time, a amateur-built DHC-2, registered N1018H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ketchikan, Alaska. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 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 PILOT DID NOT ADEQUATELY COMPENSATE FOR THE CROSS WIND CONDITIONS WHILE TAXIING AND FAILED TO MAINTAIN CLEARANCE BETWEEN THE AIRPLANE AND A TREE ON THE SHORELINE. THE CROSSWIND WAS A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 30, 1990 · about 1:30 am 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
- N1018H · registry record · serial 732
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT REPORTED THAT TURBULENT CONDITIONS WERE ENCOUNTERED WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH. DUE TO THIS CONDITION, A LANDING ON THE WATER WAS MADE CLOSER TO THE SHORE THAN INTENDED. DURING THE TAXI TO THE DOCK IN A COVE, THE AIRPLANE DRIFTED TO THE LEFT WHERE THE LEFT WING CAME IN CONTACT WITH A TREE ALONG THE SHORE OPPOSITE THE DOCK. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THERE WERE NO MECHANICAL FAILURES OR MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE AIRPLANE AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
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 single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 4,250 hours in all; 253 in this make and model; 210 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 4,000 as pilot in command; 20 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,685 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 12, 1990; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,090 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ketchikan Air Service
The flight
- Departed from: NONE Dora Bay AK
- Destination: NONE Lancaster Cove AK
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
Other NTSB records under N1018H 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.