- Date
- August 14, 2007, 14:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Seattle, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N7657XCessna 172B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20070814018179A
- Case key
- 66440
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 private pilot's failure to see the approaching large wake swell, both during his landing and the subsequent takeoff, and the failure of the instructor pilot to insure that the private pilot's visual lookout was effective enough to detect the oncoming wake. Factors include a wake generated by a large boat.
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 the floatplane instructional flight, the private pilot decided to make a practice landing and takeoff on a large lake. Although the landing on the calm water was uneventful, during the takeoff run, just before liftoff, the aircraft encountered the wake of a large boat. As the aircraft crossed the crest of the first wave of the wake, it became momentarily airborne, and then it impacted the advancing forward face of the second wave. At the moment of impact, four of the float attach fittings failed. The pilot therefore immediately aborted the takeoff, but the right wing impacted the surface of the water before the aircraft came to a stop. Neither the private pilot nor the instructor pilot that was supervising him had seen the large swell approaching during the landing, and during the takeoff run, neither of them noticed it until a few seconds prior to the time the aircraft impacted it.
Factual narrative
During the floatplane instructional flight, the private pilot decided to make a practice landing and takeoff on a large lake. Although the landing on the calm water was uneventful, during the takeoff run, just before liftoff, the aircraft encountered the wake of a large boat. As the aircraft crossed the crest of the first wave of the wake, it became momentarily airborne, and then it impacted the advancing forward face of the second wave. At the moment of impact, four of the float attach fittings failed. The pilot therefore immediately aborted the takeoff, but the right wing impacted the surface of the water before the aircraft came to a stop. Neither the private pilot nor the instructor pilot that was supervising him had seen the large swell approaching during the landing, and during the takeoff run, neither of them noticed it until a few seconds prior to the time the aircraft impacted it.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7657X
- Reported as
- Cessna 172B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17248157
- Airframe hours
- 2,954
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stephen A. Tibbitts
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2007
- Departed
- Seattle, WA
- Destination
- Spanaway, WA
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 52
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2005
- Flight hours
- 6,988 total · 1,001 in this make and model · 52 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2005
- Flight hours
- 104 total · 45 in this make and model · 22 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.