As of June 2019, there have been 119 incidents and accidents involving the DHC-3 resulting in 242 deaths. Listed below are a select few of the most notable ones. • In 1956, two military Otters broke up in mid-air. One had taken off from Downsview and the other from Goose Bay. The Otter requires immediate use of elevator
trim to counteract the strong change in pitch caused by the retraction or extension of the flaps. Investigators found that metal contamination in a hydraulic valve allowed the flaps to rapidly retract with the tailplane still fully trimmed, and the consequent nose drop was severe enough to cause structural failure. A filter was added to the flap hydraulic system and an interconnection added between the flaps and tailplane to maintain proper trim as the flaps are operated. • On 20 May 1964,
Philippines Airlines Flight F26, a DHC-3 Otter, PI-C51, crashed into a hill when flying at VFR at Subico Point, killing all 11 on board. • On 24 March 1986, a DHC-3 Otter floatplane, C-FAGM, of
Labrador Airways, crashed while returning to
Goose Bay Airport from a trip to Snegamook Lake to retrieve a group of partridge hunters. On the return trip, the aircraft encountered engine trouble. The pilot, Howard Mercer, who was the president of Goose Bay Air Services, called dispatch to report the engine running rough. As the aircraft neared Nipishish Lake, 47 miles north of
Goose Bay, the pilot reported experiencing engine problems again, and that he would follow the Crooked River towards the airport as a precautionary measure for if an emergency landing was needed. Three minutes later, the pilot called dispatch to inform them he would be making an emergency landing on the river due to a smoke odour in the cockpit. The aircraft never made it. Due to whiteout conditions and the frozen surface of the river, when the pilot flew close to the ground to land, the wing struck the ground and the aircraft broke apart and was subsequently engulfed in flames. Three passengers and the pilot were killed, while one passenger survived the crash with serious injuries. • On 22 June 1994, a DHC-3 Otter floatplane, N13GA,
registered to and operated by
Wings of Alaska of
Juneau, Alaska, crashed into the
Taku Inlet, 12 miles east of Juneau. The
air taxi flight had departed the Taku Lodge located on the
Taku River bound for the Juneau downtown dock.
Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Six passengers were killed, one passenger was missing and presumed dead, and the pilot and three passengers received serious injuries. The
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributed the accident to
continued VFR into IMC and the pilot's consequent failure to maintain altitude above the water surface. • On 9 August 2010, a DHC-3T registered to Anchorage-based
GCI crashed about north of
Dillingham, Alaska, while en route to a private fishing lodge. Five of the nine people on board were killed, including former Alaska Senator
Ted Stevens. Surviving passengers included former NASA administrator
Sean O'Keefe and his teenage son, both of whom sustained injuries. • On 23 September 2011, a DHC-3T Turbine Otter floatplane, N361TT, sustained substantial damage during a
go-around and subsequent low-altitude maneuver at Heitman Lake, about 5 miles south-southwest of
Kodiak, Alaska, killing the pilot and injuring the two passengers. One of the passengers reported that during the go-around, the airplane struck a tree on the shoreline and crashed. • On 7 July 2013, a DHC-3 Otter registered to Rediske Air, N93PC,
crashed on takeoff at
Soldotna Airport, Alaska, killing all ten aboard. There were no surviving witnesses and the aircraft did not carry a
flight data recorder, but the NTSB was able to reconstruct the aircraft's flight path using a recovered mobile phone video recorded by a passenger. The NTSB attributed the accident to a
stall caused by the operator's failure to weigh cargo and verify that the aircraft was loaded within its
center of gravity limits. • On 25 June 2015, a
Promech Air DHC-3 Otter crashed into the face of a
granite cliff near Ella Lake,
Alaska, 20 miles (32 km) northeast of
Ketchikan. The aircraft carried a pilot and eight passengers who were tourists on a sightseeing excursion from a
Holland America Line coastal cruise aboard the
cruise ship MS Westerdam. All nine people on board died. The NTSB determined that the pilot had a history of poor decision making and that the company had a compromised culture that resulted in an "operation in which safety competed with performance and revenue". • On 15 September 2015, a DHC-3 Turbine Otter floatplane carrying ten people and belonging to Rainbow King Lodge crashed on takeoff at Eastwind Lake, mile north of Iliamna, southwest of Anchorage. Three people were killed in the crash. • On 13 May 2019, in the
2019 Alaska mid-air collision, a
Taquan Air DHC-3 Turbine Otter floatplane, N959PA, collided with a Mountain Air Service DHC-2 Beaver, N952DB, over
George Inlet, Alaska, with the loss of one passenger aboard the DHC-3 and five passengers and crew aboard the DHC-2. The NTSB attributed the accident to the inherent limitations of the see-and-avoid concept, along with the absence of alerts from both airplanes' traffic display systems." Due to the angle of approach, both pilots' viewpoints were partially blocked by the aircraft structure or seated passengers. The NTSB identified Taquan's inadequate preflight checklist and the
Federal Aviation Administration's failure to require Taquan to implement a
safety management system as contributing factors. • On 4 September 2022, a DHC-3 floatplane operated by Friday Harbor Seaplanes, N725TH,
crashed in
Puget Sound near Whidbey Island, Washington, killing all ten aboard the aircraft. On October 24, the NTSB announced that the horizontal stabilizer
actuator had separated into two pieces at a threaded assembly fitting, and that the actuator lock ring was missing from the wreckage. The next day,
Viking Air issued a service letter requiring DHC-3 Otter operators to inspect their aircraft and ensure that the actuator's lock ring is present. ==Specifications (landplane)==