History of Flight
On September 23, 2011, at approximately 1930 Alaska daylight time, a single-engine, turbine-powered amphibious float-equipped de Havilland DHC-3T airplane, registration N361TT, sustained substantial damage during a go-around and subsequent low-altitude maneuver at Heitman Lake, about 5 miles south-southwest of Kodiak, Alaska. The airplane was operated by Paklook Air Inc. as a visual flight rules on-demand air taxi flight under 14 CFR Part 135. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and company flight following procedures were in effect.
The flight departed Old Harbor, Alaska, bound for Kodiak about 1905. According to a passenger interview, the pilot decided to land at Heitman Lake for no particular reason. After making an approach but before touching down, the pilot decided to proceed to Kodiak without landing. The airplane flew low over the lake toward a V-shaped notch at the east end. As it passed through the notch, the left wing struck a tree. The pilot reacted by pulling back hard on the control yoke and rolling right. The airplane entered a steep climb, began shaking, and the stall warning horn sounded. It then rolled left before entering a steep, nose-down descent, followed by impact with terrain.
Injuries and Damage
The commercial pilot sustained fatal injuries. The right-front seat passenger was seriously injured, and the rear-cabin passenger received minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.
Aircraft and Personnel Information
The pilot, aged 49, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, single-engine sea, and instrument airplane. He was issued a second-class FAA medical certificate on May 2, 2011, with limitations requiring corrective lenses for distance and near vision. Total aeronautical experience was listed as 3,000 hours, with 280 hours in the accident make and model. He had flown 180 hours in the previous 90 days, including 6 hours on the accident day, which was his third flight that day. A biennial flight review was completed on July 1, 2011.
The accident airplane, a de Havilland DHC-3 manufactured in 1952, had been modified under supplemental type certificate SA 09866SC with a 900-shaft-horsepower Honeywell TPE-331 turboprop engine installed on June 6, 2003. It was equipped with amphibious floats and maintained under an Approved Airplane Inspection Program. The last required inspection was completed on June 10, 2011. Examination of logbooks revealed no mechanical anomalies.
Wreckage and Investigation
The wreckage was located on a hillside north of a creek about 300 feet east of Heitman Lake (elevation approximately 900 feet). The initial point of impact was an evergreen tree on the hillside, about 20 feet above the creek, within the V-notch. Orange paint chips from the tree matched the left wing leading edge. The airplane impacted the ground nose-first in a near-vertical attitude, creating an impact signature slightly larger than the propeller diameter. The left wing broke away at the root but remained attached; its leading edge had an impact mark about 18 inches from the tip. Wing flaps were extended. Control continuity was established for all controls. No preaccident mechanical problems were discovered during the on-scene wreckage examination.
A Garmin GPSMAP 696 recovered from the wreckage provided track data showing the airplane departing Old Harbor, descending toward the west end of Heitman Lake, turning east, and slowing to 64 knots groundspeed at the last data point as it descended toward the lake surface in the direction of the creek outlet.
Medical and Pathological Information
A postmortem examination determined the pilot’s cause of death as blunt force injury to the head, accidental in manner. Toxicological testing revealed the presence of doxylamine (0.047 ug/ml) in the pilot’s blood, as well as dextrorphan and ranitidine in urine. Doxylamine is a sedating antihistamine; the FAA recommends that pilots allow five dosing intervals (30 hours) to elapse before flying after taking such medication.