De Havilland DHC-6-300 N344CS

Summary

On 11 August 2025 at about 18:30 local time, a De Havilland DHC-6-300 registered N344CS, operated by Rampart Aviation, was involved in an accident near San Celmente, California, United States. 18 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

11 August 2025 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

San Celmente, California, United States

Nearest airport

San Clemente Island Nalf (NUC)

Coordinates

33.0228, -118.5876

Aircraft

De Havilland DHC-6-300

Registration

N344CS

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

2

Operator

Rampart Aviation

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

NAS North Island → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA250

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On August 11, 2025, at 1130 Pacific daylight time, a De Havilland DHC-6-300, N344CS, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at San Clemente Island, California. The 2 pilots and 16 passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Code of Federal Regulations Title 14 Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight. According to the operator, the flight was uneventful until approximately 10 seconds prior to touchdown. About 15-20 ft above ground level and an airspeed of about 95 knots, the airplane began to yaw hard to the left and pitched nose down. The left wing struck the runway and the first officer, who was the pilot flying, banked to the right and the airplane touched down hard onto the runway. Upon touchdown, the captain took control of the airplane and tried to maintain directional control by using nosewheel steering, however, the airplane turned left and exited the runway surface. The airplane came to rest upright, the flight crew shut the engines down, and the occupants egressed from the airplane. About 1/3 of the outboard portion of the left wing and about 1/2 of the left aileron had separated. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the No. 1 (left) engine propeller beta ring was fragmented, with multiple pieces of the beta ring contained within the engine cowling. The airplane and the recovered beta ring fragments were retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.