Pilots Never Saw This Mid Air Collision Coming

This mid-air collision between a DHC-2 Beaver and a DHC-3 Otter in Ketchikan, Alaska, was a tragic event and this video explains what happened and what you need to know to stay safe.

Video animations and images courtesy of the NTSB.

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[BW]

My wife and I were on the Norwegian sun cruise ship. We were on the port side, docked at Ketchikan AK. I was standing on our balcony watching the aircraft take off and land. I watched both these aircraft take off near our ship. The Beaver having a radial engine really was full throttle to take off. The Otter took off a bit later. About an hour later we were on the top deck and seeing Ketchikan fire dept and various emergency vehicles running past the ships towards the coast guard facility. A few hours later our captain made an announcement about the accident and loss of life. All the aircraft passengers came from another cruise ship docked right behind us. Watching the other cruise ship, there was a lot of activity from many of the employees of the ship. That evening, the local news made a detailed report on out the crash. Knowing I had seen both aircraft take off, it kind of hit me I had watched the last moments of a bunch of people that wouldn’t be coming back.

[peteranson]

A few years ago I was flying in the Australian outback, a place where the "Big Sky" can't possibly get much bigger. I had an interesting experience on a leg between Wilcannia and Menindee. I use Ozrunways on my iPad for flight planning and navigation. One of the features is that if you are within range of the mobile phone network it will “broadcast” your position and planned course and altitude to other Ozrunway users and display it on their screens; almost as good as radar but with a bit of a time delay. The mobile network is very limited in the outback but at altitude it’s surprisingly good. While heading south west roughly parallel to the Darling River at the recommended cruise altitude of 2500 feet I could “see” another aircraft tracking east across my path but marked as “unidentified”. He was only 300 feet higher and as we closed it looked like we might pass pretty close to each other so I kept a close watch on our altitude separation, and when it looked like I might be able to spot him I looked in the likely direction and was surprised to see a large helicopter, I think it was a Bell 412 air ambulance, within a few hundred metres and closing rapidly. We did have a small altitude separation but I think he got a bit of a shock too because he made a sudden bank to the left to pass behind me. We were probably the only aircraft within a 100 mile radius but we came that close. Sometimes the big sky just isn’t big enough.

[deweyoxburger]

I flew in that same Otter a week prior on the Misty Fjords tour. I sat in the copilot's seat where that lady latter died. I took many photos inside and outside of the aircraft. The NTSB used my one photo for their report cover. I will never forget this.

[davidhorizon]

Non pilot but aviation enthusiast. You do a great job explaining difficult things. I really like your channel.

[Riley]

I lived in SE Alaska for 10 years and flew Beavers for work. There were good pilots and pilots I flew with once and never wanted to fly with again

[steelhealer]

I worked up in Alaska for 3 months during my junior internship in medical school. Alaska has the greatest number of pilots per capita. Towns and villages are far apart. Areas are remote and having a pilot's license and access to a plane opens life up. I am new to Pilot Debrief, not a pilot, but my dad was B17 bomber pilot in WWII. Leaving the Air Force he was given a commercial pilot rating and he used to take me flying out of then Zahn's Airport. We built model airplanes together and he taught me some basics of flying. This collision was sad and just shows you that even an experienced pilot can find themselves in a bad place. Hoover..great website and thanks for keeping your explanations understandable for all us "non flying pilots at heart". F

[thomaswest]

Living in western NYS years ago, a gorgeous clear day got me up for a pleasure flight. Flying the C172 solo in an area far from airports I missed a midair with a C172 that crossed directly under me. Instructors (blessed be the good ones) had drilled into me to always scan and it paid off. Saw him coming about 2:00 position about 3 sec before crossing paths. Pulled up and saw the rivets on his wing as he crossed directly beneath me. He never saw me until we crossed. He did a pull up turn after to check me out. We never met or talked later. “Big blue sky” my ass. That was one of two near misses in 30yrs/1000 hrs of flying. Both saved me by scanning and situational awareness. Ever vigilante!

[casssmith]

You’re a natural teacher. That’s why it’s so addictive for me to watch your channel. I’m an outsider looking in but the wealth of info you have is beyond measure for ppl learning. I love scrolling thru comments and looking for other pilots comments, too. Fascinating.

[timpassmore]

Back in 1986, I was working as ship's photographer aboard the Pacific Princess, the original Love Boat. Sailing out of Seattle, we had a day in Ketchikan, and these tours were very popular with the passengers. On one cruise, a woman who had some kind of travel program on a Bay Area TV station asked if I would come on a floatplane tour and run the video camera she had as their budget couldn't swing a real operator. With just three of us, the pilot was constantly answering questions and positioning the plane for the best viewing. I can only imagine what it would be like with 10.
Another time, the captain sent for me shortly after we docked and said that the harbor master had requested a photographer to go up in one of the tour helicopters to get pics of the five cruise ships that were in port, the first time they'd ever had five at once.
Before taking off, I had them take my door off so I wouldn't have to try shooting out the small window. It made it a little chilly and noisy, but with the intercom, that wasn't a problem. I was a little taken aback when he said I would have to help him keep a lookout for other aircraft. With five ships in harbor, the airspace was swarming, but I didn't consider the odds of a midair to be too seroius.
I should have known better. The previous December, I'd been aboard the Mississippi Queen riverboat when it collided with a barge train between Baton Rouge and New Orleans and had to be run onto a mud bank to keep from sinking.

[grandyco]

Watching these videos should be required by all pilots with 100 hours or less. One video a week with an exam after each one. Hover, you are the best. Thank you for taking time away from your family to provide the aviation public with this information. This is your mission field

[timdykes]

Pilot to pilot position reports during sightseeing activities. Saves lives.

[miragesmack]

The company who owned the Otter had another wreck a week later, killing both occupants, and suspended operations for awhile. That plane was a Beaver. They were under stricter observation by the FAA, and eventually resumed flying tours.

[dessertfox]

Thank you for a great video. About 50 years ago, I got my pilot's license and flew about 100 hours in Los Angeles area. After I had a couple of near misses, I decided to quit flying because it was obvious that I just didn't have the awareness required to be a safe pilot. It was a difficult decision to make because flying is so much fun, but I doubt if I would be alive today if I would have continued to fly.

[AaronWbirdman]

Another great breakdown. Thank you. The animation at the end where the one aircraft was hidden due to the frame of the structure of the aircraft was informative and frightening.

[BeachsideHank]

Your surgical forensics of aerial accidents are of university quality, thanks for sharing your valuable and insightful expertise.

[iamburl]

Hoover has the safest UT video out there, so passionate of flying, very experianced and still as humble as he is, speaks volumes for hoovers heart, I salute you captain

[pamelaremel]

Non-pilot myself, but love aviation. This was just tragic! Keep up the great work Hoover!

[miragesmack]

This is why Alaska has the most dangerous airspace in America during summer, if you account for numbers of accidents. I watched their wrecks one period, they had an accident for 8 straight days. Most out in the wild, as everyone flies just to get around, but some are like this one.

[digger]

One random day, while in flight training at Merrill field in Anchorage Alaska, I counted seventeen other aircraft in the sky. It’s extremely possible to have midair collisions.

[raybates]

Communicate, communicate, communicate! Even just a friendly chat on CTAF as both aircraft were leaving could have indicated both of their intentions to each other and allowed them to deconflict their proposed flights before they got near each other. Well done analysis!