- Date
- April 12, 1989, 10:45 local (17:45 UTC)
- Place
- Bellevue, WA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N8521ZLake LA-4-200-EP
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 16, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890412007819A
- Case key
- 40916
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
Loss of engine power for an undetermined reason and failure of the instructor pilot (CFI) to maintain control of the aircraft, which resulted in a stall/spin.
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 instructor plt (CFI) had been training the student, who was a certificated plt, but not seaplane rated. Witnesses rprtd that as the acft departed lake sammamish, the eng made unusual sounds, then it became silent. One witness rprtd hesaw the airplane spinning in a flat attitude. An investigation revealed no preimpact part failure, but during a test, the spark plugs would not fire continuously at the mimimum allowable operational pressure. The acft had been equipped with an extended propeller hub in accordance with STC #SA4NE. This modification extended the propeller rearward by 4 inches. The acft had flown 255 hrs since it was last inspected.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8521Z
- Reported as
- Lake LA-4-200-EP (LA-4-200-E)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1093
- Airframe hours
- 600
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Lake Aircraft
- Registered owner
- Starship Leasing Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 15, 1988 · 255 hours before
- Departed
- RNT · Renton, 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 23
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,592 total · 1,463 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 54 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BFI, 9 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.