Accident Overview
On September 14, 2015, at about 1330 Alaska daylight time, a float-equipped De Havilland DHC-2 MK.1 airplane, registration N676SP, collided with a tree and a river bank during a water takeoff from the Nowitna River, approximately 58 miles northwest of Nikolai, Alaska. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to Sportsman's Leasing LLC of Anchorage, Alaska, and operated by Sportsman's Air Service, also of Anchorage, under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a day, visual flight rules positioning flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight originated from the Yukon River at Galena, Alaska.
Pilot Account
According to the pilot, a flight of two company airplanes proceeded empty to the river for a passenger and cargo pickup. The accident airplane landed at the primary landing site on the river and instructed waiting boats to move downriver to a longer, alternate landing site where the second airplane was waiting. While departing the primary site, upon reaching the step phase of takeoff from the river, the left wing impacted a tree, and the airplane then impacted the river bank. The pilot reported that he was unable to achieve sufficient directional control to avoid impact with the tree and river bank. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage.
Wreckage and Impact Information
Photographs of the wreckage supplied by the pilot showed that the airplane came to rest on top of a dirt and rock embankment along the river, and the float support structure had collapsed. The right float had rolled onto its right side, broken in half, with the forward section lying under the fuselage pointed to the left. The left float appeared intact. Both water rudders appeared to be in the up/stowed position. The right side of the fuselage, aft of the right float attachment point, displayed buckling of the metal skin. Both wings appeared bent aft, as evidenced by deformation at the forward portion of their wing roots. The outboard leading edge of the left wing showed damage consistent with impacting an object.
Due to the remote location of the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge did not examine the wreckage.