Final
6 fatal, 9 serious, 1 minor
May 13, 2019
N952DB crash at Ketchikan, AK
De Havilland DHC-2 — Midair collision at Ketchikan, AK
DateMay 13, 2019
Tail numberN952DB
AircraftDe Havilland DHC-2 · De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver · DHC2
LocationKetchikan, AK
Phase of flightManeuvering
OperationPart 135
Injuries6 fatal, 9 serious, 1 minor
NTSB caseCEN19MA141
Probable cause
The inherent limitations of the see-and-avoid concept, which prevented the two pilots from seeing the other airplane before the collision, and the absence of visual and aural alerts from both airplanes’ traffic display systems, while operating in a geographic area with a high concentration of air tour activity. Contributing to the accident were (1) the Federal Aviation Administration’s provision of new transceivers that lacked alerting capability to Capstone Program operators without adequately mitigating the increased risk associated with the consequent loss of the previously available alerting capability and (2) the absence of a requirement for airborne traffic advisory systems with aural alerting among operators who carry passengers for hire.
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