- Date
- May 29, 1988, 14:47 local (18:47 UTC)
- Place
- Shaftsbury, VT
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1405FLake LA4-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 2, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880529016239A
- Case key
- 36002
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 lake amphibian was being flown with two ferry tanks installed in the cabin. The pilot departed with full fuel in the aircraft tanks and 15 gallons in the ferry tanks. The center of gravity at zero fuel weight was 3/4 inch past the aft limit. With addition of fuel the position of the CG remained unchanged, however, the aft limit of the envelope moved forward with higher weights. A connection where the ferry tanks were plumbed into the aircraft system leaked and allowed air to be sucked into the system. Witnesses reported the engine intermittent, then the aircraft entered a spin from which it did not recover.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1405F
- Reported as
- Lake LA4-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 50
- Airframe hours
- 109
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Harry W. Rhule
- Registered owner
- Lentomyyntioy C/O Capt H Rhule
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Special flight (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 20, 1988 · 13 hours before
- Departed
- AGC · Pittsburgh, PA
- Destination
- LCI · Laconia, NH
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
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.