PUGET BAY, AK, USA
N95608
TAYLORCRAFT BC12-D
THE PILOT MISJUDGED HIS ALTITUDE ABOVE THE WATER WHILE ON SHORT FINAL APPROACH FOR A GLASSY WATER LANDING. AS HE MADE A MINOR HEADING CORRECTION IN ORDER TO LAND DIRECTLY INTO THE WIND, THE LEFT FLOAT HIT THE WATER. THE FLOATS WERE TORN FROM THE AIRPLANE WHICH SANK IMMEDIATELY. THE PILOT HAD NOT FILED A FLIGHT PLAN AND WAS NOT RESCUED UNTIL 9 DAYS LATER.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 13, 1993, at 1200 Alaska daylight time, a float equipped Taylorcraft BC12-D airplane, N95608, crashed while making a glassy water landing on a lake at Puget Bay, located 35 miles southeast of Seward, Alaska. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The local personal flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, departed Fire Lake at Eagle River, Alaska, at about 1000. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed. The pilot was located and rescued on September 22, 1993. Shortly afterward during a telephone conversation, he stated the following, in part: "I was making a glassy water approach and landing to the lake. When I reached what I thought was about 200 feet above the water, it felt like the wind picked up and shifted a little. As I made a slight turn in order to land directly into the wind, the left float hit the water. The floats were torn off and the airplane sank immediately. I had landed at that lake once previously."
THE PILOT'S IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION, AND HIS MISJUDGING HIS ALTITUDE ABOVE THE WATER. A FACTOR WAS THE GLASSY WATER.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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