Date & Time:
Jul 19, 1996 at 1530 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver
Operator:
Loken Aviation
Registration:
N54LA
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Hoonah – Elfin Cove – Juneau
MSN:
724
YOM:
1954
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
1
Captain / Total hours on type:
616
Aircraft flight hours:
11047
Circumstances:
The pilot of the air taxi cargo flight departed his base of operations in Juneau, Alaska for a series of flights in southeast Alaska that would ultimately return him to Juneau. On the accident leg of the intended round robin, the pilot was en route from Hoonah to Elfin Cove. The flight would originate and end at sea level, and traverse a mountain pass, with minimum obstruction clearance in the pass estimated at 500 feet msl. The airplane collided with steeply rising terrain at the 1,250-foot level about one mile south of the proposed flight path. The airplane was partially consumed by a post impact fire. The operator initiated a helicopter search within two hours of the time of the accident. The helicopter pilot and his passenger both reported that the area where the accident airplane was eventually located was obscured in low clouds, and that many of the other valleys and mountain sides were covered in clouds. Low clouds persisted in the area of the crash site for the following two days.
Probable cause:
The pilot's decision to continue VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions, and his failure to maintain adequate clearance from rising terrain. Factors associated with the accident were the rising terrain and clouds.
Final Report:
N54LA.pdf101.62 KB
