What happened
A de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver was conducting a visual flight rules flight from Big Trout Lake, Ontario, toward Geraldton, Ontario, carrying a pilot and an aircraft maintenance engineer. During the flight, the crew encountered unfavorable weather, prompting a decision to divert to Pickle Lake, Ontario.
While descending toward the diversion point at approximately 1430 central daylight time, the aircraft's engine lost power at an altitude of roughly 300 feet. In response to the loss of power, the pilot directed the aircraft toward a narrow river. The pilot performed several troubleshooting steps to attempt an engine restart, which included checking fuel pressure, verifying the fuel selector was on the front tank, setting the throttle to idle, ensuring a rich mixture, and engaging the ignition switch to both magnetos while using the wobble pump. The pilot also attempted to switch to the center fuel tank and back to the front tank, but the engine failed to restart.
The aircraft completed a forced landing on the river at a speed between 40 and 45 mph. Following the touchdown, the left wingtip struck trees on the riverbank, causing the aircraft to yaw 180 degrees and strike the bank. This impact caused the floats and float struts to break away. Further contact with trees on the bank resulted in damage to the right wing and the elevator. The two occupants were wearing appropriate safety harnesses and sustained no injuries. The aircraft suffered substantial damage.
Findings
The engine failure occurred during the descent phase of flight, and despite multiple attempts to restart the engine using different fuel sources and manual pumping, the power loss persisted.