Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Glen Canyon Nat, Utah 84716
Saturday, February 24, 2007 14:30 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The aircraft collided with the surface of a lake while flying at low altitude over the water. The pilot said that he was flying over a lake at 50 feet above the water; and that there was a good ripple on the water to give him an altitude reference. He said that he maneuvered the airplane into another section of the lake and he noted that he was approximately 25 feet above the water. The pilot said "a few moments later, near the center of the bay, the water turned to glass smooth, and I must have lost depth perception because in a moment we were touching [the] water." The pilot said the airplane decelerated rapidly, and it did not nose over or sink immediately. The pilot and his two passengers exited the aircraft with no injuries, but spent over an hour swimming to shore in the 44-degree water. They were rescued the from the shore following morning.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's intentional flight over water at low altitude and his subsequent failure to maintain adequate clearance from the water. A contributing factor was the glassy surface condition of the lake.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/24/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Glen Canyon Nat
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84716
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 373906N
Event Location Longitude 1102054W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID BCE
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) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.04
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 3
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 21515
NTSB Notification Source FAA NW ROC
NTSB Notification Date Feb 26 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 29 2007 12:24PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Salt Lake City, UT

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N224MT
NTSB Number SEA07CA064
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 Cirrus Design Corp.
Aircraft Model SR22
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1334
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Apr 1 2006 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 330
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name RCCB Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Lewes
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19958
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 U07
Departure City Glen Canyon Nat
Departure State UT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code U77
Destination City Spanish Fork
Destination State UT
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 9 2007 11:28AM
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 --