Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Chimacum, Washington 98325
Monday, August 23, 1999 13:05 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The 1,100 hour pilot-in-command (PIC), who had just purchased the amphibious RC-3, had no amphibious/floatplane experience. Accompanied by the 4,664 hour flight instructor serving as a safety pilot, the two pilots departed Port Angeles, Washington, for Corvallis, Oregon, with the intention of making practice landings en route. Witnesses observed the aircraft in a smooth, descending, right turn lining up to the north over the south end of Discovery Bay and headed towards 50 foot power lines which crossed the bay on an east/west line. Just short of the power lines, the aircraft was observed to execute a sharp 90 degree left turn, descend out of control to the water, bounce into the air and then re-enter the water in a steep, nose down attitude. Post-crash examination of the aircraft revealed no evidence of airframe or powerplant malfunction. Forward fuselage crush angles confirmed a nose low, left wing low attitude, characteristic of a stall condition upon water impact. A pilot who landed a floatplane near the accident site immediately after the crash reported gusty windy conditions.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The inadequate visual lookout by both the pilot-in-command and second pilot, and the pilot-in-command's failure to maintain sufficient flying speed to prevent a stall condition. Contributing factors were the transmission lines, gusty wind conditions, and the pilot-in-command's lack of total experience in type of aircraft.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/23/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1305 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | CHIMACUM |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98325 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| 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 | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1255 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 17 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | NUW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 47 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 24 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 20000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 7 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 7 |
| 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 | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 2 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 998 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 23 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1354 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 10 2001 10:17AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N6070K |
| NTSB Number | SEA99FA146 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Republic |
| Aircraft Model | RC-3 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | RC-3 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 250 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2980 |
| 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 | Aug 10 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 0 |
| Airframe Hours | 1151 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | LOONEY, JAMES, C. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 540 NW 33RD STREET |
| Aircraft Owner City | CORVALLIS |
| Aircraft Owner State | OR |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 97330 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | CLM |
| Departure City | PORT ANGELES |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1300 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | CVO |
| Destination City | CORVALLIS |
| Destination State | OR |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 10 2001 12:26PM |
| 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 | -- |