- Date
- June 19, 1994, 16:41 local (20:41 UTC)
- Place
- Put-In-Bay, OH
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5YMClassic Waco YMF5
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940619015709A
- Case key
- 8940
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 total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. The lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing was a factor.
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
While in cruise flight at 1,700 feet mean sea level over a lake, the airplane's engine lost total power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine and was forced to ditch the airplane. The pilot stated that the shore of the lake was heavily treed and he did not think it would be safe to attempt a landing there. Post accident examination of the airframe did not reveal any anomalies. Fuel was present in the fuel tanks and throughout the fuel system. The engine was examined and no anomalies were found.
Factual narrative
On June 19, 1994, at 1641 eastern daylight time, a Classic Aircraft, WACO YMF5, N5YM, lost total engine power while in cruise flight at 1,700 feet mean sea level over Lake Erie near Put-in-Bay, Ohio. The pilot ditched the airplane. The pilot received minor injuries and the two passengers were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local sightseeing flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot reported that at 1,700 feet mean sea level, and about 1,500 feet from the shore, the airplane's engine lost total power. The pilot stated that he tried to restart the engine to no avail. He stated he elected to ditch the airplane instead of land on the heavily treed shore. The pilot and passengers exited the airplane while it was still afloat and were rescued by nearby boaters. The airplane sank to the bottom of the lake.
The airplane was removed from the lake on June 20, 1994, and examined. The examination did not reveal any airframe anomalies. Fuel was present in each fuel tank and found throughout the fuel system.
Under the supervision of a Federal Aviation Administration Safety Inspector, the engine was examined by a certified mechanic at General Aviation Incorporated located in Lansing, Michigan. No anomalies were noted. Further, the engine and its accessories were sent to the engine manufacturer, Jacobs Service Company, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, for a teardown inspection. The inspection did not reveal any anomalies. (See attached engine inspection reports for further details.)
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5YM
- Reported as
- Classic Waco YMF5
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- FO36
- Airframe hours
- 165
- Engine
- Jacobs R-755 B2, 275 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Baystormers Ltd.
- Registered owner
- Baystormers Ltd.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 11, 1993 · 35 hours before
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
- 37
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 11,000 total · 125 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CLE, 25 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.