- Date
- August 20, 1993, 18:00 local (Aug 21, 1993, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Galbraith Lake, AK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N8575VBellanca 8GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19930820031389A
- Case key
- 2412
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 pilots improper preflight planning/preparation. A factor was the unfavorable wind.
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 said that just after the airplane got off the water the wind speed or direction, or both, changed. The airplane stopped climbing, then hit the terrain at the edge of the lake. The pilot said he was taking off with a light load, and that he had used that lake 50 to 60 times previously. The pilot stated that he should have waited for a steady wind.
Factual narrative
On August 20, 1993, at 1800 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Bellanca 8GCBC airplane, N8575V, collided with the terrain during an attempted takeoff from an unnamed lake about 25 miles west of Galbraith Lake, Alaska. The private pilot and one passenger were uninjured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal hunting flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed.
On August 26, 1993, when the pilot called the NTSB to report the accident, he stated the following in part: "The accident happened on August 20, 1993, but because of bad weather we were not picked up until today. That's why I'm late reporting it. The accident happened while I was trying to takeoff from a lake that I had used 50 to 60 times previously. The winds were variable at about 10 gusting to 12 knots. Just after getting off the water the wind either changed directions or speed, or both. The airplane stopped climbing then hit the terrain at the edge of the lake. The right float and attaching fittings on the fuselage were damaged, and a float strut punctured the belly of the airplane."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8575V
- Reported as
- Bellanca 8GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 142-75
- Airframe hours
- 1,900
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-C2E, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mcintyre, Jon D.
- Registered owner
- Mcintyre, Jon D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 18, 1993 · 60 hours before
- Destination
- Toolik Lake, 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 850 total · 650 in this make and model · 850 as pilot in command · 85 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 10 knots, gusting 25
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 61 °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 N8575V · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.