- Date
- August 25, 1992, 20:40 local (Aug 26, 1992, 03:40 UTC)
- Place
- Edmonds, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4431UHelio H-391B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report August 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920825050879A
- Case key
- 42888
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 partial loss of engine power when an exhaust valve seized in the open position and the water where the pilot was forced to land, which resulted in an acft nose over on touchdown.
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 pilot increased power to initiate a climb and the engine partially lost power. He ditched the acft in puget sound when he was unable to reach an airport or the shore for an emergency landing. The acft nosed over on touchdown in the water. An exam of the engine after the accident revealed the no 4 exhaust valve was seized in the open position.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4431U
- Reported as
- Helio H-391B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 091
- Airframe hours
- 2,371
- Engine
- Lycoming GO-435, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Brown, Christopher K.
- Registered owner
- Brown, Christopher K.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 26, 1992 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- FRH · Friday Harbor, WA
- Destination
- BFI · Seattle, 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,000 total · 190 in this make and model · 2,500 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 350° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 75 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PAE, 4 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.
Other investigations on N4431U · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.