JUNEAU, AK, USA
N470DB
de Havilland DHC-2 MK-I
The float-equipped airplane was observed striking its right wing on water 3 miles west of Juneau, Alaska, while landing, then taking off again. One hour later, witnesses at a lake 30 miles south of Juneau, observed the airplane land, drag a wing and strike the propeller on the water, then take off. The private pilot reported that while in cruise, after the second takeoff, the engine stopped, and he made a power-off landing to the water. Postaccident inspection revealed substantial damage to the right wing.
On June 22, 1997, about 1445 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped DeHavilland DHC-2 MK-I airplane, N470DB, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on the water near Lena Point, two miles west of the Juneau, Alaska, airport, and during a subsequent hard landing at Hasselborg Lake, 30 miles south of Juneau. The solo, private certificated pilot was uninjured. The airplane was owned and operated by Thomas L. Hall of Juneau, Alaska. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. No flight plan was filed, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. Witnesses described the airplane's right wing contacting the water while landing at Lena Point, and then observing the airplane depart. Additional witnesses provided the following description of the airplane landing at Hasselborg Lake at 1430: "The right float began to drag and dip...the right wing tip hit the water...the plane tipped forward and the propeller hit the water...the nose and right wing was in the water and I could see the full bottom of each float. Somehow the plane didn't go over and slammed back down on the floats...It appeared the right wing tip was damaged and that a piece of the wing tip was folded up and visible on the upper side of the end of the wing...a very short time after landing, the pilot applied power and took off." The pilot stated in the NTSB Pilot/Operator Report that after departing Hasselborg Lake, water poured over the right passenger window while in a left bank, and that the airplane developed, "an abrupt right yaw...shortly thereafter the engine sputtered and died at about 1500 feet." The pilot said he made an engine out landing and paddled the airplane onto a beach. On June 23, 1997, FAA aviation safety inspectors observed the airplane secured at the Juneau Airport float pond. Their inspection revealed damage to the right wing's outboard butt rib, cracked upper and lower right wing skins, and a ruptured right wing tip fuel tank.
The pilot's misjudged touchdown which resulted in dragging the right wingtip and rupturing the fuel tank. A factor associated with the accident is the rough water conditions.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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