# NTSB ANC05TA058: de Havilland DHC-2, N8190Y, Talkeetna, AK, April 15, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Final report - Date: April 15, 2005, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Talkeetna, AK - Coordinates: 62.968612, -150.754714 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=62.9686&lon=-150.7547&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Taxi](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/250) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 28, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Anchorage, FSDO-03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 61333 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05TA058 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61333/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05TA058 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for taxi after landing, which resulted in the collapse of the main landing gear and structural damage to the right wing and forward fuselage. A factor associated with the accident was the rough and uneven terrain. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, taxi - from landing - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - Main gear collapsed, taxi - from landing ## Analysis The airline transport pilot was conducting a federal public use flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when he landed a ski-equipped airplane on a glacier. In a written statement to the NTSB, the pilot reported exiting the landing area in a wide right-hand turn attempting to keep high on the slope, and avoid a depression on the steeply sloping terrain. He wrote that when the tailwheel started to slide downhill, he added power to increase rudder authority, and shallowed the right turn, hoping to avoid a depression. He reported that the airplane crossed over the depression, and upon "touching down on the far side" the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing struck the snow. The pilot reported that the right wing and forward fuselage sustained structural damage. According to the pilot, there were no known preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On April 15, 2005, about 1300 Alaska daylight time, a ski-equipped de Havilland DHC-2 airplane, N8190Y, sustained substantial damage during an on-ground encounter with terrain while taxiing from landing on a glacier, about 50 miles northwest of Talkeetna, Alaska. The airplane and pilot were provided by Talkeetna Air Taxi, inc., and the flight was being operated by the National Park Service, Talkeetna, as a visual flight rules (VFR) federal public use flight when the accident occurred. The airline transport pilot was not injured, and the two passengers received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight departed Talkeetna about 1245. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on April 18, the pilot said that after landing, while taxiing to an area of the glacier to unload cargo and the two passengers, both National Park employees, he noticed a crevasse in his taxi path. He said he was unable to avoid the crevasse, and applied power to "leap-frog" over the crevasse. He said when the airplane landed on the opposite side of the crevasse, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing struck the snow. The right wing and forward fuselage sustained structural damage. The pilot said there were no known preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. In a subsequent written statement to the NTSB dated April 17, the pilot reported that he exited the landing area in a wide right-hand turn attempting to keep high on the slope, and avoid a depression on the steeply sloping terrain. He wrote that when the tailwheel started to slide downhill, he added power to increase rudder authority, and shallowed the right turn, hoping to avoid the depression that was hidden by the crown of the hill. He wrote that the airplane crossed over the depression, and upon "touching down on the far side" the right main landing gear collapsed. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8190Y](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8190Y), registered now, S/N 824, built 1955 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: de Havilland DHC-2 - Registry model: [Dehavilland DHC-2 MK. I(L20A)](https://openairdocs.org/model/dehavilland-dhc-2-mk-i-l20a) (registry code 2808002) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney R-985 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r-985-series) (registry code 52008, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 824 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada R 985SB3 450 hp reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Public aircraft - federal, Part 91 - Operator: National Park Service - Registered owner: Talkeetna Air Taxi Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Departed: PATK, Talkeetna, AK - Destination: Ruth Glacier, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 61; injuries: none; flight instructor, commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine sea, single-engine land, single-engine sea, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: helicopter, airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review May 1, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 15,000 total, 1,000 in this make and model, 14,000 as pilot in command, 55 in the last 90 days, 44 in the last 30 days, 21 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 330° at 6 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 43 °F, dew point 19 °F - Altimeter: 29.88 inHg - Observed at: PATK, 50 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 20050415007679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050415007679A), Apr 15, 2005: Dhav DHC2*, Talkeetna, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) After landing on a glacier in the denali national park, the pilot taxied the airplane to a drop-off point for passengers and supplies onboard. During… ## Other investigations on N8190Y (1) 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. - [NTSB ANC92LA128](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC92LA128), Aug 12, 1992: De Havilland DHC-2 (N8190Y), Crescent Lake, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE PILOT'S MISJUDGING HIS ALTITUDE ON FINAL APPROACH. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE GLASSY WATER CONDITION. 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.