# NTSB ANC04LA064: deHavilland DHC-2, N105RL, Wasilla, AK, June 13, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 12, 2004, 18:30 local (Jun 13, 2004, 02:30 UTC) - Place: Wasilla, AK - Coordinates: 61.599166, -149.346939 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.5992&lon=-149.3469&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 28, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-ANC FSDO03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 59445 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04LA064 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/59445/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04LA064 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in a collision with a log. Factors contributing to the accident were a tailwind, a lack of brake pedals at the second pilot station, and the second pilot's lack of a tailwheel endorsement. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - weather condition - tailwind (contributing factor) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - landing gear,normal brake system - not installed (contributing factor) - qualification, copilot/second pilot (contributing factor) - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - other - Nose down, landing - roll ## Analysis The second pilot, who was seated in the right seat, was landing a tailwheel-equipped airplane on runway 04 at a private airport. Runway 04 is 1,200 feet long, and has an asphalt surface. The second pilot indicated that runway 04 sloped uphill, and he was landing with a slight tailwind. He said that the right pilot position did not have any brake pedals, and that he did not have a tailwheel endorsement. He relied on the first pilot, seated in the left seat, to apply the brakes after touchdown. The second pilot said that during the landing roll, as the first pilot applied the brakes, the airplane veered sharply to the right and departed the runway. The right main landing gear wheel struck a log, the right wing contacted several small trees, and the airplane momentarily nosed down. The airplane received structural damage at the right main landing gear attach point, damage to the propeller, the aft fuselage adjacent to the tailwheel attach point, and the left main landing gear strut. The closest official weather observation station, located 3 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, was reporting, in part: Wind, 240 degrees (true) at 7 knots. ## Factual narrative On June 12, 2004, about 1830 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped deHavilland DHC-2 airplane, N105RL, sustained substantial damage when it departed the runway and collided with a log during the landing roll at the Gattis Strip Airport, about 3 miles northeast of Wasilla, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country business flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The first pilot, an airline transport certificated pilot seated in the left seat, and the second pilot, a commercial certificated pilot, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Northway Airport, Northway, Alaska, about 1700, and the destination was Gattis Strip. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on June 16, the second pilot reported that he was landing on runway 04 at the Gattis Strip at the conclusion of a flight from Edmonton, Canada. The pilot said the airport is the location of a maintenance facility where the airplane was to have been converted from wheels to floats. The pilot indicated that runway 04 sloped uphill, and he was landing with a slight tailwind. The second pilot said that the right pilot position did not have any brake pedals, and that he did not have a tailwheel endorsement. He relied on the first pilot, seated in the left seat, to apply the brakes after touchdown. The pilot said that during the landing roll, as the first pilot applied the brakes, the airplane veered sharply to the right and departed the runway. The right main landing gear wheel struck a log, the right wing contacted several small trees, and the airplane momentarily nosed down. The airplane received structural damage at the right main landing gear attach point, damage to the propeller, the aft fuselage adjacent to the tailwheel attach point, and the left main landing gear strut. According to the FAA Facility Directory/Alaska Supplement, Gattis Strip is a private airport. Runway 04 has an asphalt surface that is 1,200 feet long. The closest official weather observation station is Wasilla, Alaska, which is located 3 nautical miles southwest of the accident site. At 1756, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting in part: Wind, 240 degrees (true) at 7 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, few at 8,000 feet, 11,000 feet broken; temperature, 66 degrees F; dew point, 39 degrees F; altimeter, 29.65 inHg. ## Aircraft - Registration: N105RL (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: deHavilland DHC-2 - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 720 - Airframe hours: 7864 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney R985-AN-14B 450 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Business, Part 91 - Operator: Jacob O. Ortman, doing business as Woodriver Lodge - Registered owner: Jackknife Associates Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, December 14, 2003, 29 hours before - Departed: PAOR, Northway, AK - Destination: 16AK, Wasilla, AK - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: 16AK, Gattis Strip, runway 04, 1,200 × 60 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 72; injuries: none; flight engineer, airline transport, flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review December 8, 2003; seat: left; flight hours: 17,000 total, 600 in this make and model, 17,000 as pilot in command, 150 in the last 90 days, 50 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours - Co-pilot; age 24; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review June 12, 2004; seat: right; flight hours: 478 total, 200 in this make and model, 448 as pilot in command, 15 in the last 90 days, 15 in the last 30 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 11,000 ft broken - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 39 °F - Altimeter: 29.64 inHg - Observed at: PAWS, 3 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040612012129A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040612012129A), Jun 12, 2004: Dhav DHC2*, Wasilla, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) On June 12, 2004, at approximately 1800 hours Alaska time, a wheel equipped Dehavilland DHC-2, N105RL veered off the runway at Gattis airstrip and… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.