page_title: 2019 Alaska mid-air collision
section_title: Aircraft
hierarchical_section_title: 2019 Alaska mid-air collision / Aircraft
caption_attribution_description: English: Ketchikan, Alaska, United States Español: Ketchikan, Alaska, Estados Unidos
context_page_description: On May 13, 2019, a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane operated by Mountain Air Service collided with a Taquan Air de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Turbine Otter floatplane over George Inlet, Alaska, United States. The DHC-2 broke up in mid-air with the loss of the single pilot and all 4 passengers. The DHC-3 pilot was able to maintain partial control, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage in the collision and the subsequent forced landing; the pilot suffered minor injuries, 9 passengers suffered serious injuries, and 1 passenger was killed. Both aircraft were conducting sightseeing flights. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
context_section_description: The first accident aircraft was a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, FAA aircraft registration number N952DB, serial number 237, owned and operated by Mountain Air Service LLC. The second accident aircraft was a de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Turbine Otter floatplane, FAA number N959PA, serial number 159, owned by Pantechnicon Aviation Ltd. and operated by Taquan Air.  Both aircraft were conducting local sightseeing flights of the Misty Fiords National Monument area for the benefit of passengers of a Princess Cruises cruise ship docked in Ketchikan, Alaska and were operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 135 as on-demand sightseeing flights. Neither aircraft carried, or was required to carry, a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder.
caption: Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base seen in 2017; DHC-2s similar to N952DB are at left, DHC-3s similar to N959PA are at far right
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