NTSB: Single piece of equipment caused deadly float plane crash near Whidbey Island

Federal investigators say a failure of a single piece of equipment caused last Labor Day’s deadly float plane crash near Whidbey Island.

On Sept. 5, 2022, nine passengers and a pilot were killed when the de Havilland DHC-3 Otter plunged into Puget Sound.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) official report, the pitch control – which allows the pilot to fly the plane up or down – became unscrewed from the rest of the tail assembly.

That sent the plane plummeting out of the sky at more than 100 miles per hour.

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NTSB releases 500 page report that includes video of Whidbey Island floatplane crash that killed 10

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Friday released more than 500 pages of documents, including video, of a floatplane crash that killed 10 people last year near Whidbey Island, Washington.

The NTSB pulled around 85% of the aircraft up off the ocean floor.

Based on that preliminary examination of the wreckage, the NTSB sent out an urgent recommendation to all DHC-3 operators to install a backup locking device on the pitch control. 

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3 lawsuits filed in Washington following 2022 seaplane crash that killed 10

Representatives for all but one of the nine passengers killed in a seaplane crash near Washington state’s Whidbey Island are suing the aircraft’s charter operator and its manufacturer.

The families of the passenger and the pilot have all filed lawsuits against the aircraft maker, and the float plane operator – seeking unspecified monetary damages for the loss of their loved ones.