- Date
- June 15, 1997, 18:00 local (Jun 16, 1997, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Marion, MT
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N224MRWood Murphy Rebel
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 24, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970616014089A
- Case key
- 42632
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 pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the terrain/water. Factors include gusty winds and downdrafts.
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 a water takeoff in gusty wind conditions, the pilot started a left turn soon after liftoff. The aircraft then encountered a downdraft and a wind gust from the right. This resulted in the aircraft entering a descent while still in a left turn. Before the pilot could recover from the descent, the left float of the aircraft impacted the surface of the lake, and the aircraft flipped onto its back.
Factual narrative
On June 15, 1997, approximately 1800 mountain daylight time, an experimental Wood Murphy Rebel, N224MR, impacted the water during a takeoff from Middle Thompson Lake near Marion, Montana. The private pilot was not injured, but his passenger received minor injuries, and the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The local 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight was being operated in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed, and the ELT, which was activated by the impact, was turned off at the scene.
In a telephone conversation with an FAA inspector, the pilot said that he was taking off into a wind of about ten knots that was gusting to 15 knots. He said that he started a left turn soon after liftoff, and that while turning left, the aircraft entered a downdraft and encountered a gust of wind from the right. This resulted in the aircraft descending while still in a left turn. The pilot was unable to arrest the descent prior to the left float impacting the water, and when the float hit the water, the aircraft flipped over on its back.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N224MR
- Reported as
- Wood Murphy Rebel (MURPHY REB)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 224R
- Airframe hours
- 240
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Wood, George D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 1997 · 30 hours before
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,200 total · 200 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.