History of Flight
On July 18, 2018, about 1900 Alaska daylight time, a float-equipped De Havilland DHC-2 (Beaver) airplane, N9878R, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Willow, Alaska. The pilot sustained fatal injuries and the two passengers sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand air taxi flight by Regal Air.
The director of operations (DO) reported that the flight was chartered by the Alaska Medicaid Travel Office to provide roundtrip transportation for two passengers from a private residence at a remote lake to the Willow Seaplane Base (2X2) and then return them home two days later. A different company pilot flew the passengers from their home to Willow Seaplane Base on July 16. The accident flight was the return trip. The accident pilot had not flown out of Willow Lake as a company pilot-in-command or to the destination lake before, so the DO reviewed the lakes, route, and fuel load with him before the flight. The company vice president called the passenger before the flight and obtained an expected cargo load of 600 lbs.
Federal Aviation Administration radar and ADS-B data showed the airplane departed Lake Hood Seaplane Base (LHD) about 1755 and arrived at Willow Seaplane Base at 1817.
Witnesses reported that after arriving at Willow Seaplane Base, the pilot loaded the passenger's cargo. According to the passenger, the cargo consisted of 800 lbs of masonry mortar bags, three totes full of food and stores, two propane tanks, a utility sink, and miscellaneous baggage and supplies. No one witnessed the pilot weighing or loading the cargo; therefore, it is unknown where items were stowed or the exact calculated weight and balance. The passenger stated that the bags of mortar were piled up on the floor behind the pilot in the second-row, and she was seated in the second-row right seat with her son on her lap. Two witnesses helped push the airplane off the shore after loading because the floats were deep and stuck on the lake bottom. They stated that the airplane appeared very deep and heavy, especially the aft end of the floats. The pilot stated to the witnesses that he planned on offloading some "cement bricks" if he could not takeoff.
Other lakeside witnesses observed the airplane maneuvering on the lake. A review of various witness videos and statements revealed that the pilot made one take-off attempt to the south-southeast. The airplane then taxied back to the north end of the lake, with the aft end of the floats deep under water in almost a plow taxi, then he step taxied around the center portion of the lake with the flaps up, and finally performed a step taxi takeoff with the flaps in the takeoff position, heading south-southeast. One witness stated that the pilot did not use the entire length of the lake for takeoff but rather started the takeoff with 1,300 ft of waterway behind the airplane at the north end of the lake.
According to the witnesses, the airplane slowly lifted off and attained a nose high attitude as it barely climbed over trees at the southeast end of the lake. The passenger stated that after takeoff, as the airplane turned left in the direction of the destination, it rolled left and crashed. After the impact, she noted that the pilot was unresponsive as the airplane became engulfed in fire, and she immediately evacuated with her son.
A home surveillance video camera captured the seconds before impact as the airplane flew east-southeast. The NTSB performed a video study that revealed that three seconds before ground impact the airplane's altitude was estimated at 115 ft above ground level and about 56 knots groundspeed, in a 25° left turn. The airplane then rolled rapidly left through 90° as it descended in a nose-down attitude. The engine speed was estimated, using propeller sound spectrum analysis, at a constant 2235 rpm up until ground impact, which was slightly above maximum continuous power.
Multiple residents in a neighborhood southeast of Willow Lake heard a loud impact and witnessed smoke rising above the site. A neighbor responded and discovered the passenger walking with her son in her arms outside of the airplane which was nose down and engulfed in flames. The Willow Fire Department, Alaska State Troopers, and personnel from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center responded.
Personnel Information
The pilot worked for multiple operators in Anchorage. He was a part time pilot for Regal Air and Fly Denali, and also worked full time for Corvus Airlines (doing business as Ravn Alaska). On the day of the accident, the pilot reported for duty at Ravn Alaska at 0615 as a first officer on a DHC-8 at the Anchorage base. He flew six legs and was released from duty at 1551. The DO described him as a real "go-get-getter" and remarked that he seemed well rested the day of the accident. The pilot had flown a total of 137.28 hours for Ravn in June and July.
The pilot also worked part time for Fly Denali as a pilot-in-command of a DHC-2T "turbine Beaver" on wheels. He had accumulated over 320 DHC-2T flight hours, and his last flight was June 29, 2018.
A review of Regal Air personnel records indicated that the pilot was a part-time pilot who was recently hired. He completed initial company training (both land and sea initial flight training and proficiency checkrides were in Cessna 206 airplanes) and was assigned as pilot-in-command for single-engine wheeled airplanes on May 5, 2018, and single-engine seaplanes May 17, 2018. Examination of pilot records revealed the pilot received three hours of DHC-2 "transition-floats" flight training on June 16 and he flew his first DHC-2 floatplane commercial flight the week before the accident. He had no proficiency check ride in the DHC-2, nor was he required to by regulation. He had accumulated 12.9 flight hours and 13 sea landings/takeoffs in the DHC-2 since he was hired.
A review of the pilot's personal logbook revealed he had experience in many different airplanes. He had accumulated a total of 216.6 hours of airplane single-engine sea flight time, and about four of those hours were in a DHC-2 many years before working for Regal Air. His initial seaplane training was conducted at Willow Lake. He was known by company personnel to be a professional and highly competent pilot. His family members stated that he loved flying and had no health issues.
Aircraft Information
The accident airplane was equipped with Aerocet model 5850 floats and had a Wipaire 5600 lb gross weight increase kit installed, which increased the maximum takeoff weight to 5,600 lbs.
The Viking DHC-2 AFM, section 4.6.1, stated stall speed with flaps up was 60 mph indicated airspeed and with landing flaps (50°) stall speed was 45 mph indicated airspeed. No stall speed for takeoff flaps (35°) was provided.
An estimated weight and balance at the time of the accident was calculated using the company's documented preflight fuel quantities, reported weights of the passengers, actual weights of recreated passenger purchased items (from receipts), estimated weights of miscellaneous items, likely load placement and company weight and balance figures. Using the calculated values, the gross weight was estimated at 5,675.8 lbs, which was 75.8 lbs over the maximum gross takeoff weight. The estimated center of gravity was 107.76 inches, which was 1.76 inches aft of the rear limit.
The AFM operating data chart for seaplanes was used to calculate the takeoff distance required to climb above a 50-ft obstacle had the airplane been operating within takeoff limits. The Aerocet Supplement indicated that an additional 90% of the calculated distance should be added. Using maximum gross weight and ambient conditions, the takeoff distance required was 1,670 ft without the Aerocet floats, and the Aerocet adjustment resulted in 3,173 ft of required distance.
Meteorological Information
A review of witness videos revealed that at the time of the takeoff, the wind was calm on the west side of the lake, and light and gusting from the southwest at the east side of the lake. Witnesses reported that the outside air temperature was much warmer than usual. The calculated density altitude at the time of the accident was 976 ft.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest in a level, wooded, residential lot in a nose-down attitude, on a heading of about 300°. The postcrash fire incinerated the fuselage, cockpit instruments, empennage, floats, engine components, and cargo. The wreckage consisted primarily of the wings, forward fuselage frame, floor structure and engine with propeller attached. The wreckage exhibited soot, charring, oxidized metal, or melted aluminum. Hardened masonry mortar was intermixed with the airframe and engine components. The right wing was mostly intact with some fore-to-aft buckling on the outboard leading edge; the flap and aileron were attached. The left wing had significant leading edge buckling near the outer edge. The left flap and aileron were attached, but the flap control rod was disconnected at the C clamp. The left aileron inboard edge had impact damage that matched the adjacent flap edge damage with the flaps extended about 30°, which indicated the flaps were likely at or near the takeoff position at the time of impact.
Aileron flight control continuity was established from the control column through the lower pulley frame to recovery cable cuts, and then from the wing root aileron bell cranks to the aileron surfaces. The rudder control system was continuous from the left rudder pedals to the rudder torque tube, which was fractured, then through recovery cable cuts to the aft rudder bellcrank. The elevator controls were continuous from the cockpit control column to the forward torque tube attachment point. Full system flight control continuity and control could not be established due to thermal, impact and recovery damage.
The hydraulic reservoir, flap hand pump and flap selector assembly were located on the airframe floor covered in debris. The flap selector lever was in the down position (flaps extended) and the hydraulic hand pump lever was down. The assembly was cleaned and removed. The flap selector lever was manually moved from detent to detent and exhibited smooth operation. The engine sustained significant impact and thermal damage. The examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Additional Information
The FAA Airplane Flying Handbook states that a stall is an aerodynamic condition which occurs when the angle of attack exceeds the wing's critical angle of attack, and it is possible to exceed the critical angle of attack at any airspeed, at any attitude, and any power setting.
Title 14 CFR 135.128 requires each person on board to occupy an approved seat with a separate safety belt properly secured during movement on the surface, takeoff, and landing. A child may be held by an adult provided the child has not reached his or her second birthday. The 2.5-year-old passenger, who was held on his mother's lap, received a serious injury to his foot during the accident. His mother was wearing a lap belt.
Medical and Pathological Information
The Alaska State Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy of the pilot; the cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicological tests were negative for ethanol and drugs. Carbon monoxide and cyanide tests were not performed.
Tests and Research
A mobile phone believed to belong to the pilot was recovered from the accident scene and examined at the NTSB Recorder Laboratory. The device was damaged extensively by fire and prevented any information retrieval. A flap control actuator that was badly burned and melted was recovered; the actuator and housing were too badly burned to determine the exact flap position at impact.
Organizational and Management Information
Regal Air was headquartered at LHD and conducted cargo, charter, and sightseeing flights throughout Alaska. The operator's fleet comprised three Cessna 206s and three float-equipped De Havilland DHC-2s. The company had an approved training manual, revision 11, that included categories of training of initial new-hire, initial equipment, and transition training. The pilot received initial training and qualification in the Cessna C206 on wheels, and transition training for the DHC-2 on floats. A pilot who previously worked for Regal Air stated that there was pressure to fly and that the senior check airmen, who subsequently was killed in another fatal company airplane accident, told him that he was concerned about new hire training and particularly the technique of step taxi takeoffs being taught as standard procedure. As a result of the accident investigation, the company issued a policy change on July 25, 2018, that included: no intersection takeoffs, step-turn takeoffs not authorized unless satisfactorily demonstrated, and in the event of an aborted takeoff due to available takeoff distance/load, the load must be reduced prior to attempting another takeoff.