Little Information Included In The Initial Report

The NTSB's preliminary report on an accident which occurred July 7 in Soldotna, AK, is a short paragraph containing some basic information about the airplane and the weather conditions.

According to the report, the De Haviland DHC-3 Otter, registration N93PC, impacted the ground off the right side of runway 25 after takeoff from Soldotna Airport (PASX), Soldotna, Alaska at about 1120 Alaska daylight time (ADT). The 9 passengers and 1 commercial pilot were fatally injured and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. The aircraft was registered to Rediske Family Limited Partnership, and operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as an on demand, non-scheduled flight between PASX, and a lodge located in Chinitna Bay, Alaska, approximately 90 miles southwest of Soldotna. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight.

The Anchorage Daily News reported at the time of the accident that no one actually saw it happen. One witness said that they had seen the plane taxiing for takeoff, but that they did not see the plane take off. There was just suddenly a large cloud of black smoke, and though fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire, no one inside the plane survived.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov