Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Dillingham, Alaska 99576
Friday, July 26, 1996 18:00 AKD

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was returning to a gravel beach site with his amphibious airplane where he had off-loaded passengers and cargo about 1-1/2 hours earlier. He landed on an adjoining lake, and taxied up the inclined shoreline onto the beach towards where his previous load of passengers had established a camp. While taxiing on the beach, the pilot turned the airplane to the left to complete a 180-degree turn and face the lake he had just landed on. During the turn, the tail of the airplane struck one bystander, and narrowly missed another. The pilot stated that he saw several people on the beach, but did not see the individual he hit. The air taxi company's operations manual states that it is the pilot's responsibility to afford 'public protection' while the airplane is being operated in the vicinity of ground personnel.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout in order to see and avoid all ground personnel, his failure to follow company procedures and directives regarding Public Protection, and his disregard of the unsafe/hazardous conditions created by ground personnel in the intended area of taxi.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/26/1996
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone --
Event City DILLINGHAM
Event State ALASKA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99576
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 1
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1061
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 12 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:11AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4763C
NTSB Number ANC96LA123
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Grumman
Aircraft Model G-21A
Aircraft Series Identifier G-21A
Aircraft Serial Number B-86
Certified Max Gross Weight 8920
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 15 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 80
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PHILLIP L. BINGMAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. BOX 190875
Aircraft Owner City ANCHORAGE
Aircraft Owner State AK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99519
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name FRESH WATER ADVENTURES
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address P.O. BOX 62
Operator City DILLINGHAM
Operator State AK
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 99576
Operator Code BPMC
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Passenger/Cargo
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code DLG
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Taxi
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --