DEHAVILLAND DHC-3

Full Narrative

On July 23, 2026, about 1720 Pacific daylight time, a De Havilland DHC-3 Otter airplane, N709KA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Eastsound, Washington. The pilot and two passengers were seriously injured, and eight passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 scheduled air taxi flight.
According to the operator, the flight originated from Kenmore Sea Base (W55), Seattle, Washington at 1630 with scheduled stops at Roche Harbor (WA03), Roche Harbor, Washington and Friday Harbor (W33), Friday Harbor, Washington. Preliminary ADS-B data showed that the airplane departed W55 about 1633 and maintained about 500 to 1,000 ft mean sea level (msl). The airplane remained over the water and generally travelled north over Rosario Strait. Once northwest of Lummi Island, the airplane turned west and passed north of Sucia Island.
The operator stated that the pilot radioed the company operations center and reported inclement weather, which precluded the flight from continuing to WA03. The pilot informed the operator that he would return to Sucia Island, land, and wait for the weather to improve. The operator reported that there were multiple bays around Sucia Island where the pilot was authorized to land. ADS-B data showed that about 1619, when the airplane was about 11 miles northeast of WA03, it turned right about 180° and flew about 5 miles towards Sucia Island. Video imagery, from a witness who was near Shallow Bay, Sucia Island, showed the airplane at a low altitude and a nose-high attitude descending towards the water. When the airplane was about 4 ft above the water, the left wing dropped and the left wingtip and left pontoon float impacted the water. The airplane then landed with both pontoon floats on the water and continued forward where it subsequently impacted rocks. A passenger on the airplane reported that multiple small boats immediately arrived to remove the passengers from the accident site. A postaccident fire destroyed the fuselage after all passengers and the pilot had exited.
The airplane was recovered to a secure hanger for further examination.