- Date
- May 27, 1999, 11:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Ogden, UT
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2716CCessna 170B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990527044379A
- Case key
- 46414
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 misjudgment of altitude during an intentional (practice) low altitude flight maneuver (landing approach).
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 was practicing approaches to an unimproved airstrip on Fremont Island in the Great Salt Lake, about 20 miles west of Ogden, Utah. He said one of the main wheels inadvertently touched down in the soft sand, causing him to lose control. During his attempt to recover, the propeller either struck a rock or the ground. The pilot said the airplane lost flying speed, and subsequently collided with water. It submerged about 50 yards offshore.
Factual narrative
On May 27, 1999, approximately 1100 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 170B, N2716C, was destroyed when it collided with terrain and water while maneuvering near Ogden, Utah. The private pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated from Salt Lake City, Utah, approximately 0900.
According to the pilot's accident report, he was practicing approaches to an unimproved airstrip on Fremont Island in the Great Salt Lake, about 20 miles west of Ogden, Utah. He wrote, "One of the main wheels inadvertently touched down [in the sand], causing loss of control. During attempted recovery, propeller struck rock and/or ground, resulting in inability to obtain flying speed." The airplane subsequently collided with water and submerged about 50 yards offshore.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2716C
- Reported as
- Cessna 170B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 26260
- Airframe hours
- 2,300
- Engine
- Continental C-145-2, 145 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jim E. Sabodski
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 11, 1998 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- SLC · Salt Lake City, UT
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,200 total · 15 in this make and model · 2,200 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 350° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SLC
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 N2716C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.