- Date
- April 30, 2002, 13:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Headland, AL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3121PLake LA-4-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20020430006249A
- Case key
- 54624
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
a loss of engine power for undetermined reason resulting in damage to the airplane during the subsequent forced landing.
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, shortly after takeoff on runway 17, he retracted the landing gear, and noted that the airplane "did not continue to climb." He turned away from a populated area, and headed back towards the airport. He stated that the airplane "did not appear to be developing adequate power and was descending. The pilot elected to keep the landing gear up and land in a soft plowed field, about 500 yards southeast of the airport. Upon touchdown the airplane's left float separated, and the left wing impacted with the ground. After the accident a test run on the engine revealed that the engine was run to 2600 RPM, and no discrepancies were found.
Factual narrative
On April 30, 2002, about 1345 central daylight time, a Lake LA-4-200, N3121P, registered to an individual, impacted the ground during a forced landing near the Headland Municipal Airport, Headland, Alabama. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. No flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal local flight. The airplane was substantially damaged. The commercial-rated pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight had departed from the same airport at 1340.
According to the pilot, after performing a pre-flight inspection he started the airplane's engine and practiced taxi procedures for about 15 minutes before taking off on runway 17. After clearing the runway the pilot retracted the landing gear, and noted that the airplane "did not continue to climb." He elected to turn away from a populated area, and head back towards the airport. He stated that the airplane "did not appear to be developing adequate power and was descending." The pilot elected to keep the landing gear up and land in a soft plowed field, about 500 yards southeast of the airport. Upon touchdown the airplane's left float separated, and the left wing impacted with the ground.
After the accident a test run was performed on the engine from N3121P, and according to the mechanic's report, dated September 30, 2002, the engine was run to 2,600 rpm, and no discrepancies were found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3121P
- Reported as
- Lake LA-4-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 983
- Airframe hours
- 1,529
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Robert K. Daugherty
- Registered owner
- Glenn Cannon
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 28, 2001 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- 0J6 · Headland, AL
- Airport
- 0J6 · Headland Muni, runway 17, 2,848 × 162 ft, grass/turf
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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- May 14, 2001
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 20,396 total · 316 in this make and model · 19,925 as pilot in command · 157 in the last 90 days · 58 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KDHN, 18 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 6, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 315 KB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.