# NTSB ANC06LA109: de Havilland DHC-2 MK.1, N4040W, Anaktuvuk Pass, AK, August 2, 2006 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 1, 2006, 17:30 local (Aug 2, 2006, 01:30 UTC) - Place: Anaktuvuk Pass, AK - Coordinates: 68.150054, -151.710693 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=68.1501&lon=-151.7107&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 6 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 26, 2007 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Fairbanks FSDO-01 - NTSB case key (mKey): 64306 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC06LA109 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/64306/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC06LA109 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff at his predetermined reference point, which resulted in a collision with the shore during takeoff-initial climb, and structural damage to the airplane. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with terrain/water, takeoff - initial climb - terrain condition - dirt bank/rising embankment - aborted takeoff - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - Gear collapsed, landing - flare/touchdown ## Analysis The airline transport certificated pilot was transporting passengers from a remote lake in a float-equipped airplane under Title 14, CFR Part 135. He said that during takeoff he passed his predetermined point to abort the takeoff without becoming airborne, and felt that he had to proceed with the takeoff or hit the shoreline. The pilot said that he was able to become airborne, but struck the shore of the lake with the airplane's floats just after liftoff. He stated that he was concerned about damage to the floats from the impact with the shore, and elected to land on a hard surface runway at the destination airport. The float structure collapsed during landing, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. There were no known mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident. ## Factual narrative On August 1, 2006, about 1730 Alaska daylight time, a float-equipped, de Havilland DHC-2 Mk.1 airplane, N4040W, sustained substantial damage when it struck the shore during takeoff from a remote lake, about 50 miles south of Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Brooks Range Aviation, Bettles, Alaska, as a visual flight rules (VFR) passenger flight under Title 14, CFR Part 135, when the accident occurred. The airline transport certificated pilot and the five passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on August 1, the Bettles Airport manager said the float-equipped accident airplane landed on the hard-surfaced runway at Bettles. The manager said the pilot told her that he had struck the shore during takeoff from a lake, and feared the floats would not support the airplane during a water landing, and elected to land on the hard-surface runway. The manager reported that during landing the float's supporting structure collapsed, and the airplane sat on its tail. On August 3, the director of operations for the company told the IIC he believed that damage to the airplane was limited to the floats and support structure, however the airplane had been put back on wheels, and the airplane was being ferried to a repair facility to have the fuselage examined and repaired, if necessary. On August 10, an FAA maintenance inspector who examined the repairs made to the airplane, told the IIC that an aft fuselage bulkhead had to be cut and spliced at the bottom, and that several additional fuselage stringers had to be cut and repaired, or replaced. In a written statement to the NTSB dated August 27, the pilot wrote that he "hesitated" at the takeoff abort point long enough that he felt he had no choice but to continue the takeoff, and that the floats hit the bank just as the airplane became airborne. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4040W](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4040W), registered now, S/N 1147, built 1957 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: de Havilland DHC-2 MK.1 - Registry model: [Dehavilland BEAVER DHC-2 MK.1](https://openairdocs.org/model/dehavilland-beaver-dhc-2-mk-1) (registry code 2800102) (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: 1147 - Airframe hours: 127000 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada R-985-14G 450 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Brooks Range Aviation Inc, doing business as Brooks Range Aviation - Registered owner: Jesperson Aircraft Services Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, July 1, 2006, 56 hours before - Departed: Anaktuvuk Pass, AK - Destination: PABT, Bettles, AK - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 62; injuries: none; flight instructor, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, multi-engine land, single-engine land, multi-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review June 1, 2006; seat: left; flight hours: 16,631 total, 422 in this make and model, 8,610 as pilot in command, 99 in the last 90 days, 97 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 61 °F ## 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 20060801015849A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060801015849A), Aug 1, 2006: Dhav DHC2MK1, Bettles, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) [privacy data omitted] pilot continued take off, striking shore and damaging floats, instead of aborting the takeoff. ## Other investigations on N4040W (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 ANC22LA056](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC22LA056), Jul 15, 2022: Dehavilland Beaver DHC-2 MK.1 (N4040W), Bettles, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during taxi operations on a riverbank with shallow water. 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.