De Havilland DHC-3T N87AW

Summary

On 28 May 2011 at about 22:00 local time, a De Havilland DHC-3T registered N87AW, operated by Alaska West Air Inc, was involved in an accident near Bettles Field, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 May 2011 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Bettles Field, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Sun Private

Coordinates

67.9167, -153.1333

Aircraft

De Havilland DHC-3T

Registration

N87AW

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Alaska West Air Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Coldfoot → Bettles Field

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC11LA048

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for the landing, which resulted in a loss of directional control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was landing at a remote, private airstrip. He said the landing area was soft, and as the airplane touched down it veered to the left. His efforts to abort the landing with the runway remaining was unsuccessful. The airplane exited the right side of the landing area and collided with a fuel tank farm. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, aileron, and the fuselage. The pilot said there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.