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Float Plane Almost Lands on Whale – Video

June 19, 2025

This dramatic video shows a sea plane just missing a humpback whale as it just happens to be surfacing as the plane is about to touch down.  This footage was captured in the remote village of Angoon, which is 35 miles southwest of Juneau, Alaska, by a San Diego businessman with his cell phone.
The pilot in the De Havilland Beaver was in a shallow descent and is about to land, but pulls up abruptly after a spray from the whale comes up in front of the aircraft. Apparently, the pilot didn’t see the spray, but was distracted by the onlookers waving and pulled up in time to avoid touching down on the whale.  He had no idea he was about to land on a whale.
Whether the pilot didn’t see the spray directly on his flight path or not we’re not sure, as in the video it appears that the pilot pulls up just in time. Pilots on short final especially that close to the ground generally don’t look around – keeping their eyes on the touchdown zone carefully.
We assume he did see the spray and pulled up just in time to avoid the “obstacle.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu2WEWRkoXk
 

Alicja Gados

Alicja Gados

I was born in Europe (Poland) and moved to Calgary as a young kid and grew up in Canada. I began graduate school in Edmonton, Alberta where I also began ground school and my private pilot’s license training at Edmonton city centre, the now closed, Blatchford field, CYXD (most operators have moved a short way west to Villeneuve). I moved to the rocky mountains, I transferred flight schools to very busy, and windy Springbank airport – CYBW near Calgary. This move was overwhelming, at best. This is a blog about my experience learning to fly, acquiring more flight experience and ratings but also about general aviation topics, news and gear reviews. I’ve discovered that flying takes a lot of studying, work and dedication, but is very rewarding! I started flying just out of graduate school, so I have struggled with paying for my lessons, and as a result, I have to take many breaks, which means that getting licensed has taken many more hours than normal. I am a commercial and multi IFR rated licensed pilot. I completed my PPL and CPL in Calgary-Springbank and multi IFR (group one) ratings in Abbotsford, BC at Chinook Helicopters. If you are learning to fly, interested in learning to fly or just interested in aviation, please join us. I trained as an economist before becoming a pilot and switching to aviation full time. I enjoy climbing, mountaineering, hiking, camping and backcountry skiing. It’s a great time to be in aviation. The industry is growing.

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