- Date
- May 29, 1992, 19:00 local (May 30, 1992, 03:00 UTC)
- Place
- Snow Lake, AK
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N9897YChampion 7GCB
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19920529017139A
- Case key
- 5733
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 keep the aircraft on the step and he allowed it to become airborne. The pilot subsequently lost depth perception, and his failure to maintain proper rate of descent, resulting in a hard landing and collapse of the float landing gear. A factor relating to the accident was the glassy water condition of the landing surface.
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 pilot's failure to keep the aircraft on the step and allowed it to inadvertantly to become airborne and subsequently lost depth perception, and his failure to maintain proper rate of descent, resulting in a hard landing and collapse of the float landing gear. A factor relating to the accident was the glassy water condition of the landing surface.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9897Y
- Reported as
- Champion 7GCB
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 117
- Airframe hours
- 1,475
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rice, John G.
- Registered owner
- Rice, John G.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 28, 1991 · 51 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Ward Cove, AK
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 28
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 145 total · 57 in this make and model · 82 as pilot in command · 5 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 11,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 55 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N9897Y · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.