Park Floatplane Noses Over Into River During Landing

On the morning of November 3rd, park chief of operations Jim Hummel was landing the park’s Husky floatplane on the Moose River when it nosed over into the water. Hummel was attempting to contact three people who were hunting from a mobile camouflaged shelter inside the park boundary. Hummel contacted the hunters after getting out of the plane and completed a brief investigation. The aircraft was retrieved and towed to a park facility the following day.  The NTSB, working with a DOI accident investigator, classified the event as an 'incident with potential' due to the absence of injuries and structural damage. The three hunters were later determined to be legally hunting on a small strip of private land within the boundary of the park. Exceptional support was provided to the park from staff with the National, Midwest and Alaska region aviation offices.