De Havilland DHC-6-300 N75GC
27 September 1989 · Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 27 September 1989 at about 16:53 local time, a De Havilland DHC-6-300 registered N75GC was involved in an accident near Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States. 21 people were on board and 10 died, 9 were seriously injured, 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 16:53
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States
- Nearest airport
- Grand Canyon (GCN)
- Coordinates
- 36.0293, -112.0198
- Aircraft
- De Havilland DHC-6-300
- Registration
- N75GC
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- DCA89MA076
People
10 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
Probable cause
IMPROPER PILOT TECHNIQUES AND CREW COORDINATION DURING THE LANDING ATTEMPT, BOUNCE, AND ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
GRAND CANYON AIRLINES FLT 5 (DEHAVILLAND DHC-6, N75GC) DEPD GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK ARPT ON A LOCAL PART 135, SIGHT- SEEING FLT. AFTER RTRNG FROM A NORMAL TRIP, THE FLT WAS CLEARED TO LAND ON RWY 21. OBSERVERS RPRTD THE APCH TO THE ARPT WAS NORMAL, BUT THE ACFT TRAVELED ABOUT 1000' DOWN THE RWY AT AN ALT OF ABOUT 5' BEFORE TOUCHDOWN. RPRTDLY, IT BOUNCED &TRAVELED ANOTHER 1000' BEFORE TOUCHING DOWN AGAIN. THE ACFT THEN VEERED TO THE RGT & THE FLT CREW INITIATED A GO-AROUND (ABORTED LNDG). THE ACFT CLIMBED IN A NOSE HIGH ALT TO ABOUT 150' TO 200' AGL, THEN IT ROLLED TO THE LEFT & CRASHED ONTOA WOODED HILL ABOUT 120' LEFT OF THE RWY. A PWR LINE WAS SEVERED DURING IMPACT, WHICH INTERUPTED ELEC PWR TO THE ARPT & DELAYED EMERG RESPONSE TO THE CRASH. SURVIVING PSGRS RPRTD THE RGT SEAT PLT WAS FLYING THE ACFT, WHILE THE LEFT SEAT PLTNARRATED THE TOUR; BUT AFTER A HARD TOUCHDOWN, THE LEFT SEAT PLT TOOK CTL OF THE ACFT & APPLIED FULL PWR FOR A GO-AROUND. A SCRAPE MARK WAS FND WHERE THE RGT WINGTIP SCRAPED THE RWY DURING THE 2ND TOUCHDOWN.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other De Havilland DHC-6 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct 1989 | De Havilland DHC-6-300 | Halawa, Molokai, Hawaii, United States | - | Fatal | 20 |
| 19 Sep 1989 | De Havilland DHC-6 | Sleepy Bay, Alaska, United States | Sound Adventures | No injuries | - |
| 14 Apr 1989 | De Havilland DHC-6-100 | Barrow, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Jun 1988 | De Havilland DHC-6-100 | Tau, American Samoa | Somoa Aviation | Serious injuries | - |
| 29 Mar 1990 | De Havilland DHC-6 | Chevak, Alaska, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 9 Dec 1990 | De Havilland DHC-6-100 | Perris Valley, California, United States | One Papa Mike Corp. | Minor injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Sep 1989 | Cessna 180 | Flagstaff, Arizona, United States | George Thomas | No injuries | - |
| 21 Sep 1989 | Cessna 152 | Chandler, Arizona, United States | Button Aviation, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 27 Sep 1989 | Robinson R22 | Scottsdale, Arizona, United States | Arizona Wing and Rotor | No injuries | - |
| 8 Oct 1989 | Roger Nelson AERONICA/T | Sierra Vista, Arizona, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Oct 1989 | Hiller UH-12E | Yuma, Arizona, United States | West Farm Air Inc. | Serious injuries | - |
| 20 Oct 1989 | Rand Engineering KR-II | Eloy, Arizona, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |