What happened
On January 15, 1958, an Alaska Coastal Airlines flight departed Juneau as part of a scheduled service through southeastern Alaska. The flight plan included several stops at Angoon, Hood Bay, Baranful, Rodgers Point, and Tenakee, before returning to Juneau. At the start of the journey, the aircraft had a gross takeoff weight of 5,237 pounds, which was within the permitted limits, and the load was properly balanced.
After completing several legs of the trip, the aircraft arrived at Rodgers Point around 15:20. Shortly after departing from Rodgers Point, a radio operator notified the Tenakee station agent that the flight had departed the water and would require 20 gallons of fuel upon arrival. However, at approximately 15:57, the pilot issued a distress call to the Tenakee agent, stating an intention to reach the flats in Kadashan Bay. The pilot's final communication indicated the aircraft was over the flats opposite Tenakee, immediately before the crash occurred. The accident resulted in one fatality (the pilot) and two injuries among the passengers.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that the primary cause was fuel exhaustion resulting from inadequate flight planning and poor judgment by the pilot. Several contributing factors were identified regarding the operator's management and safety protocols:
- The pilot failed to plan a route that maintained an adequate fuel reserve.
- One of the aircraft's fuel tanks was non-functional, meaning the plane was not operating in compliance with its passenger-carrying certification requirements.
- The air carrier lacked sufficient organizational oversight to ensure safe flight planning and operational control.
- Unfavorable weather necessitated a longer route than originally intended, which the pilot did not account for.
- There was evidence that the company's operations manual was not properly maintained or updated according to regulations.