Lake Nahwatzel Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Shelton, Washington 98584
Thursday, July 24, 2008 15:15 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Witnesses observed the float-equipped airplane land on the lake and taxi to the middle where the engine was shut down. Two men were seen exiting the airplane and sitting on the pontoons for about 30 minutes, before going back into the airplane. The airplane then taxied several more times across the lake, consistent with a typical procedure used by float plane pilots to rough up glassy water conditions to enable the airplane to lift off sooner. The airplane then taxied to the south end, turned, and departed to the northeast. The airplane lifted off near the end of the lake and attained an altitude of about 100 feet above the water and clear of trees when the witnesses observed the wings begin to wobble. The airplane rolled hard to the left and collided with the terrain in a nose-down uncontrolled descent consistent with an aerodynamic stall. Some of the witnesses detected no change in the engine sounds and commented that there were no signs of engine problems. An examination of the airframe and engine revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The length of the lake traveling from the south end to the northeast end is approximately 5,000 feet.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to attain and maintain adequate airspeed during initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/24/2008
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1515
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Shelton
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 98584
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 471550N
Event Location Longitude 1231959W
Event Location Airport Lake Nahwatzel
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 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 455
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 280
Weather Observation Facility ID SHN
Elevation of weather observation facility 273
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 11
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 150
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 25456
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 24 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 8 2009 11:01AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Seattle FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6320N
NTSB Number LAX08FA244
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 Ground
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model A185F
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18504305
Certified Max Gross Weight 3320
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 Sep 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 1498
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Mark Storer Aviation LLC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Burien
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 98166
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Mark Storer Aviation LLC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Burien
Operator State WA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 98166
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 --
Departure City Shelton
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1515
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Auburn
Destination State WA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 14 2009 5:29PM
User who most recently changed record coos
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --