- Date
- May 26, 2006, 15:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Willow, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N141RGrumman G-44
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 20060526010369A
- Case key
- 64018
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to retract the amphibian airplane's main landing gear prior to landing on a lake, which resulted in a nose over during touchdown.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The commercial certificated pilot reported that he was landing his amphibian airplane on a lake during a Title 14, CFR Part 91 local flight. He had departed a hard-surfaced runway about 15 minutes prior to landing on the lake. The pilot noted during a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge that as the airplane touched the surface of the lake, it decelerated very quickly and then nosed over. He said he and the sole passenger were able to exit the airplane through their respective side windows. The pilot indicated that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane, and it was likely that he failed to retract the main landing gear after takeoff from the hard surfaced runway. An FAA inspector who responded to the accident site stated that the airplane had substantial structural damage to the nose section, and that the landing gear was in the down and locked position.
Factual narrative
The commercial certificated pilot reported he was landing his amphibian airplane on a lake during a Title 14, CFR Part 91 local flight. He had departed a hard-surfaced runway about 15 minutes prior to landing on the lake. The pilot noted during a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge that as the airplane touched the surface of the lake, it decelerated very quickly and then nosed over. He said he and the sole passenger were able to exit the airplane through their respective side windows. The pilot indicated that there were no preaccident mechanical problems with the airplane, and it was likely that he failed to retract the main landing gear after takeoff from the hard surfaced runway. An FAA inspector who responded to the accident site stated that the airplane had substantial structural damage to the nose section, and that the landing gear was in the down and locked position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N141R
- Reported as
- Grumman G-44
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1378
- Engine
- Lycoming GO-480B1D, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Steven Compton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- PAVO · Willow, AK
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 1,717 total · 55 in this make and model · 55 in the last 90 days · 28 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.