Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

White Bear Lake, Minnesota 55110
Monday, July 5, 1999 12:40 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Shortly after takeoff, the pilot noted that the airplane was not climbing normally. He said that he could not maintain a comfortable airspeed to raise the wheels on the floats. He became distracted with trying to maintain a flying airspeed of 85 miles per hour and an altitude of 300 feet agl. 'The plane was indicating normal temperatures and pressures. The only noticeable differences were vibrations until the propeller was dialed back to 2,500 rpm and [the] manifold pressure was pulled to 25 inches [of Mercury (HG)].' The pilot cleared the landing lane on the lake and made the landing area. He said that he did not perform a before landing check and that the landing gear (wheels) were still extended out of the floats. On contact with the water, the airplane nosed over. Examination of the airplane revealed that the wheels were fully extended on the floats. Examination of the engine and other airplane systems revealed no anomalies.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inability to get the airplane to climb for undetermined reason, and the pilot landing the floatplane on the lake with the wheels extended. Factors contributing to this accident were the pilot's failure to perform a before landing checklist, pressure induced by the event, and the precautionary landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/5/1999
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1240
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City WHITE BEAR LAKE
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 55110
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1253 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 185
Weather Observation Facility ID STP
Elevation of weather observation facility 705
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 15
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 3400
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
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) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 23
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 2904
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 4
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 253
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 5 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1439
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 11:43AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9780B
NTSB Number CHI99LA209
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 180A
Aircraft Series Identifier 180A
Aircraft Serial Number 50078
Certified Max Gross Weight 2850
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection May 4 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 25
Airframe Hours 2279
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MARK R. BAKER
Aircraft Owner Street Address 5697 ORCHARD AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City WHITE BEAR LAKE
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 55110
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 No
Departure Airport Code 25D
Departure City FOREST LAKE
Departure State MN
Departure Country
Departure Time 1230
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
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 --