- Date
- June 29, 2005, 08:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Big Bend, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N2929CCessna 180A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20050629014669A
- Case key
- 61890
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 misjudged his clearance altitude above the surface of the lake, resulting in a collision with water.
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
During a left turn to final, the airplane's left landing gear contacted the surface of a lake, causing the plane to settle into in the water and become submerged about 100 feet short of the landing area. The pilot reported that he had been using this private strip on the shore of a reservoir since 1965. He made several passes to check the condition of the unimproved area and noted that the lake level was higher than normal, which reduced the length of the landing area to about 600 feet. The pilot stated that the accident was caused by his failure to determine the proximity of the water surface. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On June 29, 2005, about 0845 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 180A, N2929C, impacted water during a landing approach to an unimproved area at the Iron Canyon Reservoir, 4 miles northwest of Big Bend, California. The pilot-owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries; the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal cross-country flight departed Paradise, California, about 0800, en route to Big Bend. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed.
In a written statement, the pilot reported that he had been using this private strip on the shore of the Iron Canyon Reservoir since 1965. He made several passes to check the condition of the area and noted that the lake level was higher than normal, which reduced the length of the unimproved landing area to about 600 feet. The pilot stated that on his left turn to final, the left gear contacted the surface of the water. This resulted in the airplane submerging and eventually flipping over about 100 feet short of the landing area. The pilot stated that the accident was caused by his failure to determine the proximity of the water surface.
The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2929C
- Reported as
- Cessna 180A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 30829
- Engine
- Continental O-470A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- P40 · Paradise, CA
- Destination
- Big Bend, CA
- Airport
- NONE · Iron Canyon Reservoir, runway 36, 800 × 40 ft, dirt
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
- 83
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 1,705 total · 107 in this make and model · 3 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.90 inHg
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 N2929C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.