Somes Pond Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Somesville, Maine 04660
Sunday, July 19, 1998 19:50 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot began a take off in his float plane from a pond. He said that as the plane lifted off, he was blinded by glare and became disoriented. The pilot attempted to abort the takeoff, lost directional control, and struck a tree on an island in the pond. The pilot reported the airplane had no mechanical deficiencies and the accident could have been avoided by departing in another direction, away from the sun. The pilot reported he had not completed a biennial flight review in 6 years and that 4 years had transpired since his last FAA physical examination.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate planning and decision, which fail to consider the effect of takeoff in the direction of the sunlight, which resulted in the pilot encountering sunglare and the loss of aircraft control.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/19/1998
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1950
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City SOMESVILLE
Event State MAINE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 04660
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport SOMES POND
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 40
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1950 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 80
Weather Observation Facility ID BHB
Elevation of weather observation facility 84
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1334
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 20 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1521
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:37AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7694E
NTSB Number IAD98LA080
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aeronca
Aircraft Model 7FC
Aircraft Series Identifier 7FC
Aircraft Serial Number 7FC-289
Certified Max Gross Weight 1500
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 3 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 5334
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROBERT L. MASSUCCO
Aircraft Owner Street Address BOX 13
Aircraft Owner City MT. DESERT
Aircraft Owner State ME
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 04660
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1945
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --