Amateur-built DHC2 accident near Anchorage, Alaska, August 2, 2024

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot reported that, as the float-equipped airplane climbed to 200 ft above the water after taking off from a lake, the engine started to sputter, run rough, and began to lose power. Video footage of the accident shows a puff of white smoke coming from the left side of the airplane just before the airplane began to lose altitude. The pilot was able to execute a left turn and land on the lake. The airplane departed the end of the lake onto the bank, the left wing impacted a tree, and the airplane came to rest in an area of brush, which caused substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were 75 gallons of fuel onboard and the fuel selector was set to the center tank for takeoff. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power. During engine runup the pilot stated that he placed the carburetor heat lever in the open position and confirmed the carburetor mixture temperature gauge was between 5-8° Celsius. He stated that because he had ample room for departure that he left the carburetor heat in the open position for takeoff. The operator mistakenly thought the airplane had been released to them. Without federal oversight, they accomplished the following: checked the fuel for contaminants, removed and inspected all spark plugs, checked the timing on the magnetos, checked compression of all cylinders, inspected the intake and exhaust valves with a borescope, checked the valve clearances, and inspected the rocker arms and rocker shaft nuts. They reported that everything was found to be within normal limits; the operator then ran the engine. Because the operator conducted invasive inspections and ran the engine without oversight, the NTSB did not examine the airplane on site. The engine was removed, crated, and sent to a facility for further examination. The postaccident examination of the engine conducted by the NTSB found no anomalies that would have prevented normal operation.

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.

Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them

Photograph 1 – View of Accident AirplanePhotograph 2 – Damage to wing root attachment pointPhotograph 3 – View of fuselage damage

The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.