Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Girdwood Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Girdwood, Alaska 99587
Monday, June 9, 2008 13:35 AKD
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
During the initial climb after takeoff in an amphibious airplane on a personal flight, the pilot reported that as the airplane reached about 300 feet above ground level, the engine began to lose power. He said that the airplane was unable to climb, and that he selected an emergency landing spot in a creek about 3/4 mile south of the departure airport. The airplane received structural damage to the left wing, the hull, and the fuselage. After recovery, the airplane's engine and airframe were examined by two Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspectors. The engine was started and it ran at idle, but when full power was applied the engine rpm decreased from 2,600 to 2,200 after about 12 seconds. The engine fuel pressure remained within normal limits, and the magneto check was normal. No other mechanical malfunction was observed. The propeller governor and the engine-driven fuel pump were sent to their respective manufacturers for examination. No mechanical malfunction of either component was observed.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A partial loss of engine power for an undetermined reason, which resulted in a forced landing. Contributing to the accident was rough and uneven terrain.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 6/9/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Monday |
| Time of Event | 1335 |
| Event Time Zone | -- |
| Event City | Girdwood |
| Event State | ALASKA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 99587 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 6 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 605718N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1490718W |
| Event Location Airport | Girdwood |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | AQY |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.75 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 150 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| 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 | Few |
| 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) | 13 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Light and Variable |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.04 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 2 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 25072 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Pilot |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jun 9 2008 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 20 2009 6:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03 |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N13RZ |
| NTSB Number | ANC08LA074 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Lake |
| Aircraft Model | L-4 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 57 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2690 |
| 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 | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | May 31 2008 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 1 |
| Airframe Hours | 2454 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Eugene N. Bjornstad |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Girdwood |
| Aircraft Owner State | AK |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 99587 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Eugene N. Bjornstad |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Girdwood |
| Operator State | AK |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 99587 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| 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 | AQY |
| Departure City | Girdwood |
| Departure State | AK |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1335 |
| Departure Time Zone | ADT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PAVD |
| Destination City | Valdez |
| Destination State | AK |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Emergency landing after takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 20 2009 6:38PM |
| User who most recently changed record | stam |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |