Landing / Ground Loss of Control · NTSB WPR11FA103
CESSNA T206H — Stanwood, WA
| Date | January 22, 2011 |
| Location | Stanwood, WA |
| Aircraft | CESSNA T206H |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Landing-flare/touchdown Nose over/nose down |
| Pilot age | 55 |
| Pilot total time | 4,213 hrs · High time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Configuration-Incorrect use/operation - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main landing gear-Incorrect use/operation - C
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Mental/emotional state-(general)-Pilot - F
- Personnel issues-Physical-Alertness/Fatigue-(general)-Pilot - F
- Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Attention-Pilot - C
What happened
According to the pilot, he was part of a flight of three amphibious float-equipped airplanes flying to a nearby lake after departure from a land-based airport. The pilot reported that this was his first time landing on the lake and that he was in trail behind the other two airplanes. The other two airplanes landed successfully, and as he approached the lake for a landing between the wakes made by the other airplanes, his son distracted him and he forgot to retract the landing gear for the water landing. He said that during touchdown, the nose of the airplane dipped. When he reached to retract the flaps and applied back pressure, the airplane nosed over, became submerged and subsequently filled with water. During a follow-up interview with the pilot, he reported that he does use a checklist, but could not recall raising the landing gear, verifying its position prior to landing or hearing the audible landing gear position-warning alert.
Postaccident examination of the recovered airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
The pilot reported that 12 days prior to the accident flight, he had suffered a loss of a close family member. The pilot stated that after the accident, he realized that coping with this loss affected his ability to focus his attention and degraded the quality of his sleep in the days before the event. The pilot further stated that it had been more clear to him post accident, as his "sleep deprivation had become very obvious."
With the pilot's attention focused on the two aircraft previously landing on the lake and engaged conversation with his passenger, it is likely that the pilot's attention was diverted from verifying the landing gear position prior to the water landing. In addition, the pilot’s loss of a close family member in the days before the accident likely degraded his performance.