# Incident 20250716012869I: Dehavilland DHC 2 MK III, Chinitna Bay, AK, July 16, 2025

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 16, 2025, 13:00 local time
- Place: Chinitna Bay, AK
- Airport: Airport Name
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: QNWA
- Aircraft: N603DA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N603DA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Dehavilland DHC 2 MK III (registry code 2808005, https://openairdocs.org/model/dehavilland-dhc-2-mk-iii) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34 series (registry code 52143, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-34-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: DEHAVILLAND DHC 2 MK III
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,905 total, 73 in this make and model, 100 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250716012869I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

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.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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