De Havilland DHC-3 Otter crash, Jun 25, 2015 (9 killed)
De Havilland DHC-3 Otter accident on June 25, 2015 near Ella Lake, Alaska, United States with 9 fatalities. Cause: NTSB (AAR1702): the pilot's decision...
- Date: June 25, 2015
- Aircraft: De Havilland DHC-3 Otter
- Location: Ella Lake, Alaska, United States
- Fatalities: 9
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: NTSB (AAR1702): the pilot's decision to continue visual flight into an area of instrument meteorological conditions, causing geographic disorientation and controlled flight into terrain; and Promech's company culture, which tacitly endorsed flying in hazardous weather, lacked a formal safety program and had inadequate operational control of flight releases.
On 25 June 2015 a Promech Air DHC 3 Otter on a sightseeing tour from Rudyerd Bay to Ketchikan, Alaska, struck mountainous terrain about 24 miles east northeast of Ketchikan. The pilot chose a route that turned west early, onto a collision course with a mountain, in deteriorating weather with overcast and rain, and pulled up too late. The commercial pilot and eight cruise ship passengers were killed, and the NTSB found the pilot had continued visual flight into instrument conditions.