What happened
On June 27, 2011, a De Havilland DHC-2 MK 1, registration N561TA, was departing from a snow-covered glacier near Talkeetna, Alaska. The aircraft was equipped with both tailwheel and wheel penetration skis. As the airplane became airborne, the main and tail skis struck a bump on the terrain.
There were no injuries resulting from the event. A postflight inspection of the aircraft revealed substantial damage to the fuselage and the tailwheel bulkhead. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical issues with the aircraft prior to the accident.
The investigation
An inspection of the aircraft following the incident confirmed that the impact with the bump caused significant damage to the tailwheel bulkhead and the fuselage structure.