ANC93FA161

While maneuvering at low altitude to observe moose, the airplane stalled into the ground. The lodge's senior pilot stated that the lodge had no recurrent training program.

History of flight

On August 31, 1993, at approximately 1105 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped de Havilland DHC2 MKE1 airplane, N64273, crashed while maneuvering approximately 6 miles west of Iliamna, Alaska. The airplane was being operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by Rainbow King Lodge of Iliamna, and had departed Iliamna on a company VFR flight plan, in visual meteorological conditions at approximately 1100. The commercial pilot and two passengers were seriously injured and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed.

After the accident, while awaiting medical evacuation at the Iliamna Airport, the pilot reportedly told witnesses that while he was maneuvering to look at a moose he lost control of the airplane and collided with the terrain. Investigators interviewed Mr. Harry Ricci, who identified himself as one of the managers of Rainbow King Lodge who had assisted in the medical evacuation of the pilot. Mr. Ricci told investigators that the accident pilot, Mr. Randy Toppen, had completed a preflight and taken off with a guide and four passengers for a landing strip west of Iliamna called Stuyhoke. He said that "Randy flew the same airplane yesterday." Ricci also told investigators that the accident pilot said, as he was carried on a stretcher, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was going to look at a moose, I was in a turn, (the airplane) it got uncontrollable, I pushed the power up, that's it, I'm sorry."

NTSB and FAA Investigators interviewed Captain Michael W. McKendry, of Iliamna Air Taxi, a pilot who witnessed the accident airplane fly across the path of his airplane from right to left at a distance of approximately 1/4 to 1/3 mile. This witness said that he was "inbound" to Iliamna with fishing clients and was at an altitude of 700 feet above ground level (agl). He said that the Beaver was seen by him to be in a right wing down turn, near the ground at an altitude that he estimated to be 200 feet agl, and recalled seeing the "bottom of the Beaver's wing" as it turned. He estimated that the heading of the accident Beaver was 340 degrees in a right turn. That pilot also said that he last saw the accident airplane in a 30 degree right bank and nose low, 5 to 8 degrees. He said that he lost site of the Beaver behind a low rise but arriving over that spot moments later, spotted the crashed airplane nose down with a motionless passenger seen at the right side of the airplane. The witness pilot said that while he circled, that passenger showed some movement. The pilot circled over the accident site for about 50 minutes until fuel became a concern, during which time he radioed for and coordinated rescue activities.

Personnel information

Pilot Randy J. Toppen 18866 SW Arrowood (winter) Lake Oswego, OR 97035

P. O. Box 106 Iliamna, AK 99606 (summer)

History of licenses: Private pilot license, single engine land, 5/26/88 single engine sea, 5/9/89, instrument 4/5/91 Commercial pilot's certificate 501783120, 4/29/91 Commercial pilot, single engine sea 5/22/91 (DHC-2 Beaver)

The pilot, represented by counsel, consented to interview approximately 50 hours after the accident. NTSB and FAA investigators were advised by the attending physician (surgeon) that "there is no reason to delay an interview longer, he's in some pain, but thinking clearly." Investigators from the Safety Board and the FAA met with the accident pilot and his attorney in an Anchorage hospital on September 2, 1993. In that interview, the pilot recalled specific details of the weight and balance, fuel load, heading and altitude of the VFR departure and cruise to the fishing drop-off location. The pilot said that he did not recall looking at a moose and neither could recall the details of the period of time in flight before the crash. A transcript of that recorded interview is attached to this report.

During the interview, the pilot said, "I remember making a turn. . . I remember trying to roll outta [sic] the turn and uh, [sic] both pitch and yaw weren't responding as I was rolling outta the turn. I remember pushing the nose down some, adding power, and still wouldn't respond in a nose up position." Investigators then asked if "pushing the nose down and adding power (was) the normal response for what type of problem?"

The pilot said, "for a stall. And that's . . . . I was -- I normally would recognize the buffeting associated with a stall. Uh, had that specifically registered in my mind, it just wasn't flying like uh, it felt mushy."

Investigators asked, "(the airplane) felt mushy?" The pilot answered "Yeah . . . wasn't responding . . . nose up and wings level."

Mr. Toppen told investigators that his experience was approximately 1100 hours total pilot time, 500 hours of that on floats and "five to six hundred (hours) on wheels." He said that most of his "time was in a Beaver, either on floats or on wheels."

Mr. Toppen recalled previous instances of circling animals with the Beaver airplane. He stated, in part, "If I'm making a slow, steep turn, after really looking at a bear, sometime or a moose, I'll put in climb flaps and, and uh, circle around these critters with, with climb flaps and, and un, additional prop RPM setting and. . ."

To the question, "So at some times you do make slow, steep turns to see animals close," Toppen replied, "Yeah. Or making like I make slow, relatively slow turns when I'm approaching to land, I'm going slower than. . .normal and I make sure that I don't have my flaps up when I'm coming . . . to land."

(Investigator's note: The aircraft's trailing edge wing flaps were found to be up in the wreckage, See impact and wreckage information.)

Mr. Toppen's log book indicated that he received 14.5 hours of training in a DHC2 Beaver (wheel equipped) between July 26, 1989 and August 28, 1989. Mr. Toppen had logged between approximately 96 hours and 119 hours, inclusively, of total flight time at this point.

He said that he began working as a lodge pilot for "Don Louche at Redoubt Mountain Lodge" in April 1991. He said that he started work at that time "with just basically a float ticket" and had "very few hours, couple hundred, two hundred fifty hours' total time and spent a month and half just flyin' with me daily, teachin' me how to fly the Beaver and spent another good two months flying just freight for him." Mr. Louche identified himself as the Rainbow King Lodge "senior pilot."

Mr. Toppen's log book indicated that he had 14.5 hours of flight time in a DHC2 Beaver (wheel equipped) and 294.1 total hours when he began work on May 11, 1991.

Entries in Mr. Toppen's log book were totalled to August 10, 1993, at which time his total flight time was entered as 905.8 total hours, 515.2 single engine land, and 390.6 single engine sea.

Investigators asked the accident pilot if he recalled doing stall training in the (Beaver) aircraft. He said that he did recall that he did.

Mr. Toppen's pilot log book showed that he had nine flights in the DHC2 Beaver between May 11, 1991 and May 21, 1991. Six of the flight log entries have annotations indicating training was conducted. Two of the nine flights indicated that the purpose of the flight was maintenance related with "Don" and one flight was "with Don and Dee to look around Kenai." The nine flights totalled 18.3 flight hours during which Mr. Toppen logged the time as 18.3 "pilot in command ('incl. solo)."

The six flights which indicated training annotations totalled 13.9 hours flight time. No entries indicated that dual (instructional) flight time was given except the final flight of training on May 21, 1991. That entry indicated 1.6 hours of dual instruction was provided by a "George Chapman, 1257313 who stated, "I have personally instructed this person and consider him ready to take 'comm. sea plane test." The annotations written for this flight stated, "spot landings, emergency prod, step turns, short