The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report today on the May 13 fatal midair collision of two sight-seeing airplanes in Alaska, citing that crash and two other recent accidents in its call for stronger safety controls for for-hire flights.
The collision between a deHavilland DHC-2 Beaver and a deHavilland DHC-3 Turbine Otter occurred seven mi (11 km) northeast of Ketchikan, Alaska. The crash killed all four passengers and the pilot of the DHC-2 and one passenger in the DHC-3; nine passengers in the DHC-3 were seriously injured, and the pilot received minor injuries. The DHC-2 was destroyed in the collision, and the DHC-3 was substantially damaged.
Both airplanes were being operated under U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations Part 135, which governs operations of busines…
