- Date
- October 5, 2003, 16:30 local (20:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lake Placid, FL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N831CStinson 108-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 28, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Orlando FSDO-15
- FAA report
- 20031005031269A
- Case key
- 58094
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 maintain airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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
According to the pilot, he was flying over Lake June at 400 feet when he entered a 180-degree steep turn. When the pilot rolled out of the turn, the airplane lost lift, descended and collided with a tree adjacent to the lake and subsequently sank in the water.
Factual narrative
On October 5, 2003 at 1630 eastern daylight time, a Stinson 108-3, N831C, registered to and operated by a private pilot, collided trees and sank in water near Lake Placid Florida. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight departed Lake Wales Municipal Airport, Lake Wales, Florida, on October 5, 2003, at 1520.
The pilot reported that he completed a preflight inspection of the airplane and found no problems with the airplane. After take off, the pilot, reported that he was flying over Lake June at 400 feet when he entered a 180-degree steep turn. When the pilot rolled out of the turn, the airplane descended, collided with a tree adjacent to the lake, and subsequently sank into the water.
Examination of the airframe revealed that the airframe was twisted and the floats were damaged. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane during the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N831C
- Reported as
- Stinson 108-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 108-3831
- Airframe hours
- 1,200
- Engine
- Franklin GA-350-C, 220 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Eric Weaver
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 8, 2003 · 175 hours before
- Departed
- X07 · Lake Wales, FL
- Destination
- Lake Placid, FL
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
- 33
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- June 25, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 180 total · 61 in this make and model · 155 as pilot in command · 69 in the last 90 days · 61 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 70° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.97 inHg
- Observed at
- BOW, 4 nm away
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 N831C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.