Taquan Air Flight 20 is a regularly scheduled commuter flight operated by

Taquan Air Taquan Air is the operating name for Venture Travel, LLC, an American regional airline headquartered in Ketchikan, a city in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It operates domestic scheduled passenger and charter services. It ...

from

Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base is a privately owned, public use seaplane base located at the harbor of Ketchikan, a city in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located near the Ketchikan International Airport, which a ...

Metlakatla Seaplane Base Metlakatla Seaplane Base is a state owned, public use seaplane base located in Metlakatla, a community on Annette Island in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. As per Federal Aviation Administration records, the ...

. On 20 May 2019, the pilot lost control of the

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has been used ...

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

while landing in the harbor at Metlakatla,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The airplane overturned, destroying the aircraft and killing both persons aboard. The accident was attributed to challenging wind conditions that proved too difficult for the relatively inexperienced pilot to handle.

Aircraft

The accident aircraft was a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver

, FAA

aircraft registration An aircraft registration is a code unique to a single aircraft, required by Chicago Convention, international convention to be marked on the exterior of every civil aircraft. The registration indicates the aircraft's country of registration, and ...

number ''N67667'', serial number ''1309'', registered to Blue Aircraft, LLC and operated by Venture Travel, LLC, dba Taquan Air, Ketchikan, Alaska. The aircraft carried mail and freight bound for Metlakatla in addition to passengers.

Crash

At about 3:56 PM local time, the aircraft initiated a landing in the Metlakatla harbor in a westerly direction. Two witnesses reported that as the aircraft descended, it rocked to the left, and then to the right. As it touched down, one witness reported that the right

float Float may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Float'' (Aesop Rock album), 2000 * ''Float'' (Flogging Molly album), 2008 * ''Float'' (Styles P album), 2013 Songs * "Float" (Tim and the Glory Boys song), 2022 * "Float", by Bush ...

"dug in" to the water, and another reported that the right wing struck the water. The aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted with the passenger cabin submerged. Volunteers from the Metlakatla Volunteer Fire Department and the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad responded in rescue boats, and the crash was reported to the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

at 4:10 PM. First responders were able to hoist the aircraft partially out of the water by the

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...

and extract the occupants, airplane seats, mail and packages. The crash tore away the right wing and wing strut; these components, along with the removed passenger seat, remained missing when the preliminary accident report was issued. Local volunteers subsequently towed the stricken aircraft to shore. The weather at the time of the crash was reportedly clear, with light winds and light chop, and winds from the southeast at 13-15 mph (21–24 km/h).

Passengers and crew

The aircraft carried a single pilot and a single passenger, both of whom perished in the crash. The victims were identified the following day. The passenger was an

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

who was commuting to an Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium clinic in Metlakatla. The pilot was a seasonal hire and held a commercial pilot certificate with single-engine land, single-engine sea, and an instrument ratings. He had 1,606 hours of total flight time with 5 hours in float-equipped airplanes.

Investigation

The

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

(NTSB) immediately began an investigation of the accident. The NTSB also initiated a separate overall investigation of Taquan Air; the airline declined to comment.

Aftermath

The accident occurred one week after the 2019 George Inlet, Alaska mid-air collision, another multiple-fatality air crash involving a Taquan flight, and the airline suspended all flights the day after this second crash. Amid increased oversight by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

(FAA), Taquan resumed limited cargo service on 23 May, scheduled passenger flights on 31 May, and on-demand sightseeing tours on 3 June.

References

{{coord missing, Alaska Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 2019 Accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver 2019 in Alaska May 2019 events in the United States Airliner accidents and incidents in Alaska