NTSB Factual Report

On June 12, 2004, about 1830 Alaska daylight time, a tailwheel-equipped deHavilland DHC-2 airplane, N105RL, sustained substantial damage when it departed the runway and collided with a log during the landing roll at the Gattis Strip Airport, about 3 miles northeast of Wasilla, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country business flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The first pilot, an airline transport certificated pilot seated in the left seat, and the second pilot, a commercial certificated pilot, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a VFR flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Northway Airport, Northway, Alaska, about 1700, and the destination was Gattis Strip.

During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on June 16, the second pilot reported that he was landing on runway 04 at the Gattis Strip at the conclusion of a flight from Edmonton, Canada. The pilot said the airport is the location of a maintenance facility where the airplane was to have been converted from wheels to floats. The pilot indicated that runway 04 sloped uphill, and he was landing with a slight tailwind.

The second pilot said that the right pilot position did not have any brake pedals, and that he did not have a tailwheel endorsement. He relied on the first pilot, seated in the left seat, to apply the brakes after touchdown. The pilot said that during the landing roll, as the first pilot applied the brakes, the airplane veered sharply to the right and departed the runway. The right main landing gear wheel struck a log, the right wing contacted several small trees, and the airplane momentarily nosed down. The airplane received structural damage at the right main landing gear attach point, damage to the propeller, the aft fuselage adjacent to the tailwheel attach point, and the left main landing gear strut.

According to the FAA Facility Directory/Alaska Supplement, Gattis Strip is a private airport. Runway 04 has an asphalt surface that is 1,200 feet long.

The closest official weather observation station is Wasilla, Alaska, which is located 3 nautical miles southwest of the accident site. At 1756, an Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR) was reporting in part: Wind, 240 degrees (true) at 7 knots; visibility, 10 statute miles; clouds and sky condition, few at 8,000 feet, 11,000 feet broken; temperature, 66 degrees F; dew point, 39 degrees F; altimeter, 29.65 inHg.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll, which resulted in a collision with a log. Factors contributing to the accident were a tailwind, a lack of brake pedals at the second pilot station, and the second pilot's lack of a tailwheel endorsement.