On June 30, 2012, about 1400 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel and tundra tire-equipped De Havilland DHC-2 (Beaver) airplane, N63562, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over in the water about 20 feet from the shore adjacent to the approach end of a gravel bar on the banks of the Noatak River about 123 miles west of Bettles, Alaska. The pilot reported that the nose over occurred during taxi. The airplane was operated by the pilot/owner as a visual flight rules personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 when the accident occurred. The pilot reported that he was the sole occupant of the airplane and that he was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.

The pilot did not immediately contact the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to report the accident. When contacted by the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) on July 17, 2012, the pilot provided information and subsequently completed a written statement. In the pilot’s written statement dated July 23, he reported that he had parked the airplane the night before on a gravel bar and that, during the night, the rising river water submerged the airplane’s main wheels and empennage. He said that, the following morning, while trying to taxi the airplane from the river, “the tires were lurching, and the tail was underwater.” He said that he increased the engine power to lift the tail and applied heavy braking action to control the airplane as he taxied downstream and downwind. The airplane then lurched forward again, and the tail lifted as the propeller struck the water, and the airplane nosed over.

Photographs provided to the NTSB by a National Park Service (NPS) ranger who responded to the scene showed that the airplane was nosed over in shallow water on a heading that appeared aligned with the estimated approach path for landing on the adjacent gravel bar. The gravel bar landing site appeared to be long, wide, smooth, and covered with sand and small rocks. The airplane’s rudder showed substantial damage. Photographs of the two-bladed propeller showed that one blade had little damage and that the second blade had minor bending and little torsional twisting.

During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC, on July 3, an NPS ranger who responded to the accident site reported seeing wheel tracks in the gravel under the shallow river water. The NPS ranger observed that the wheel tracks, which were in line with the airplane’s main landing gear wheels, led up to the wreckage and appeared to come from a direction consistent with an approach to the gravel bar from over the river. The NPS ranger added that, during his on-scene interview with the pilot, the pilot asked him not to notify the NTSB or the Federal Aviation Administration about the accident.