Reduced visibility prevailed at the time of the June 25, 2015 accident involving a turbine de Havilland DHC-3 Otter. The pilot and all eight passengers perished in the crash.
The aircraft was on a Part 135 sightseeing flight about 24 miles southeast of Ketchikan Airport in Alaska. According to the NTSB preliminary report, the visibility at Ketchikan Airport was six miles in rain and mist about 20 minutes before the 12:15 p.m. accident. A company VFR flight plan was in effect.
The airplane hit a near-vertical rock face in a nose-high, wings-level attitude at an elevation of about 1,600 feet msl and came to rest upright on steep terrain. Although the airplane had terrain avoidance avionics, investigators are looking at a possible CFIT, as well as other factors. Onboard equipment included two Chelton units—one providing the pilot with moving map and terrain awareness data and the other providing primary flight display information.