Dehavilland BEAVER DHC-2 MK.1 accident near Bettles, Alaska, June 30, 2012
On June 30, 2012 at about 10:00 pm local time, a Dehavilland BEAVER DHC-2 MK.1, registered N63562, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Bettles, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to properly judge the airplane’s distance and altitude from the landing location during the final approach, which resulted in an undershoot and a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 30, 2012 · about 10:00 pm local time
- Place
- Bettles, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dehavilland BEAVER DHC-2 MK.1 · all BEAVER DHC-2 MK.1s on the register
- Registration
- N63562 · no longer on the register · serial 272
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, he parked his tailwheel-equipped airplane on a remote gravel bar adjacent to a river, and, during the night, the rising water submerged the airplane’s main wheels and empennage. The pilot reported 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 showed that the airplane was about 20 feet from the shore and positioned on a heading aligned with the estimated approach path for landing on the adjacent gravel bar. Evidence of minimal damage on the propeller blades is consistent with a low engine-power setting at the time of the nose over. The main landing gear wheel tracks that led up to the wreckage were visible in the gravel beneath the shallow river water and that the tracks came from a direction consistent with an approach to the gravel bar from over the river. All of the physical evidence is consistent with the airplane having touched down in the water short of the desired touchdown point during an attempted landing on the gravel bar.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing area undershoot during landing (flare/touchdown)
- Nose over/nose down during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surfa › (general) › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 2,396 hours in all; 398 in this make and model; 61 in the last 90 days; 35 in the last 30 days; 2,396 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 2, 2010
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,167 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 14, 2012
- Maximum gross weight: 5,370 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-985 SERIES (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: Bettles AK
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 25 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 150 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.