Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Sumner, Washington 98390
Thursday, September 4, 2003 16:54 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
In a written statement the pilot reported that the water takeoff was normal, however, 400 to 500 feet into the climb, the engine quit. The pilot reported that a straight ahead landing was not possible due to boats on the water, and elected to land near a residential street on Snag Island. In a supplemental written statement, the pilot reported that following the engine failure he turned the airplane to the left, approximately 180 degrees, in an effort to reach a suitable area for landing. The statement continues, adding that after completing the turn, the pilot was still unable to reach a suitable landing area and elected to "...stall into the trees." A witness to the accident reported, in part, that the pilot was demonstrating the airplane's takeoff performance off water. The witness stated he followed the airplane, on a jet ski, during its takeoff glide in an effort to mark the actual point of takeoff. A second witness, who was also on a jet ski, reported that shortly after becoming airborne, approximately 100 feet above ground level (AGL), the airplane "...began a very steep right turn." The witness stated that after entering the turn, the airplane pitched (nose down) and impacted terrain. Disassembly and examination of the cylinder assemblies and associated components revealed no evidence of a pre impact mechanical failure. Further examination of the crankcase and internal crankcase components revealed no evidence of oil starvation or internal component failure.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Loss of engine power during the initial climb. Factors include the in-flight collision with trees during the uncontrolled descent.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 9/4/2003 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1654 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | Sumner |
| Event State | WASHINGTON |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 98390 |
| Event Date Year | 2003 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 471300N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1220836W |
| 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 | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 50 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 21 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 10 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 15589 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA-ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Sep 4 2003 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1715 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 3 2004 1:28PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Seattle, Washington |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N819GS |
| NTSB Number | SEA03LA186 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Schmidt |
| Aircraft Model | Zodiac 601 XL |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 6-4975 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1620 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | Yes |
| 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 | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Unknown |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 21 |
| Airframe Hours | 21 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Gordon K. Schmidt |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Sumner |
| Aircraft Owner State | WA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 98390 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| 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? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Departure City | Sumner |
| Departure State | WA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1654 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| 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 | Maneuvering |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | No |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 31 2004 5:33PM |
| User who most recently changed record | STAM |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |