- Date
- August 30, 2024, 11:27 local (18:27 UTC)
- Place
- Big Bend-Gold Bar, WA · Lake Isabel
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N379MECessna T206H
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20240830015909A
- Case key
- 195105
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 improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Findings · 6
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot of the amphibious airplane reported that during the approach to a lake over glassy water, he misjudged the height of the airplane above the water’s surface. He reported that he “had no sense of depth perception” and the airplane impacted the water when he thought it was about 10 ft above the surface. The pilot chose to set the airplane on the water surface to avoid departing with possible damage. However, the airplane handed hard and the float struts collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N379ME
- Reported as
- Cessna T206H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- T20608229
- Built
- 2000
- Airframe hours
- 800
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-SER, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- Bellevue, WA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- none
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Handheld GPS
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
- 63
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 22, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,714 total · 59 in this make and model · 1,578 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- KAWO, 29 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KAWO 301856Z AUTO VRB04KT 10SM CLR 23/16 A3012 RMK AO2 SLP203 T02280156=
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 13, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.2 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.