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20250716012869I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Dehavilland DHC 2 MK III · Chinitna Bay, AK · July 16, 2025

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

Date
July 16, 2025 · 13:00 local
Place
Chinitna Bay, AK
Airport
Airport Name
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator
QNWA
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N603DA
Reported as
Dehavilland DHC 2 MK III
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
2,905 total73 in this make and model100 in the last 90 days
N603DARegistered now · Dehavilland DHC 2 MK IIIS/N 1161 · Built 1957Airframe modelDehavilland DHC 2 MK IIIEngine modelPratt & Whitney PT6A-34 seriesTurbo-prop

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

On July 16, 2025, at approximately 1300 AKDT, a single engine turbo-propeller aircraft model DHC-2 mk iii, was involved in an incident while landing on a beach at Chinitna Bay Alaska. The pilot was the sole occupant of the aircraft and was uninjured in the event. The aircraft landed hard causing the tailwheel to separate from its attachment to the fuselage. The pilot stated that the landing site was a sandy beach with scalloped ridges formed by wave action below the tide mark. The approach to landing on the beach was stabilized. With power setting near flight idle, the airplane sink rate increased rapidly near touchdown. The pilot advanced the power lever, but the turbine engine was slow to increase power. The airplane landed hard and bounced once. On the second ground contact, the pilot noticed a shimmy in directional control and then felt the aircraft settle in a pitch attitude that was higher than normal. After exiting the aircraft and walking the landing path, he discovered the tailwheel had separated from the aircraft in one of the scalloped ridges. No other damage was noted.

As the FAA filed it

ON JULY 16, 2025, AT APPROXIMATELY 1300 AKDT, A SINGLE ENGINE TURBO-PROPELLER AIRCRAFT MODEL DHC-2 MK III, WAS INVOLVED IN AN INCIDENT WHILE LANDING ON A BEACH AT CHINITNA BAY ALASKA. THE PILOT WAS THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT AND WAS UNINJURED IN THE EVENT. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED HARD CAUSING THE TAILWHEEL TO SEPARATE FROM ITS ATTACHMENT TO THE FUSELAGE. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE LANDING SITE WAS A SANDY BEACH WITH SCALLOPED RIDGES FORMED BY WAVE ACTION BELOW THE TIDE MARK. THE APPROACH TO LANDING ON THE BEACH WAS STABILIZED. WITH POWER SETTING NEAR FLIGHT IDLE, THE AIRPLANE SINK RATE INCREASED RAPIDLY NEAR TOUCHDOWN. THE PILOT ADVANCED THE POWER LEVER, BUT THE TURBINE ENGINE WAS SLOW TO INCREASE POWER. THE AIRPLANE LANDED HARD AND BOUNCED ONCE. ON THE SECOND GROUND CONTACT, THE PILOT NOTICED A SHIMMY IN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AND THEN FELT THE AIRCRAFT SETTLE IN A PITCH ATTITUDE THAT WAS HIGHER THAN NORMAL. AFTER EXITING THE AIRCRAFT AND WALKING THE LANDING PATH, HE DISCOVERED THE TAILWHEEL HAD SEPARATED FROM THE AIRCRAFT IN ONE OF THE SCALLOPED RIDGES. NO OTHER DAMAGE WAS NOTED.