Aleknagik, AK, USA
N139F
GRUMMAN G-44
The pilot of the twin-engine seaplane was en route to a remote lake to pick up passengers. A passenger who was awaiting pickup witnessed the accident and said that when the airplane arrived in the area, it made multiple passes over the lake and island where he was waiting. After the third pass, the airplane came into view very low over the water. The airplane banked to the left, and the left wing float struck the water. The airplane veered sharply to the left, bounced, and cartwheeled three times. The airplane came to rest, partially submerged, with its high-mounted wings level with the surface of the water. The witness was unable to reach the airplane due to the icy water, and the airplane subsequently sank in the lake and was not recovered. The witness did not see the pilot. The witness reported that the weather conditions at the time of the accident consisted of calm wind, low clouds, light rain, and fog restricting the visibility. He further described the water as glassy. It is likely that, due to visibility and water conditions, the pilot misjudged the height above the surface of the lake during a low pass, resulting in the left wing float inadvertently contacting the surface of the lake.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On October 7, 2012, about 1645 Alaska daylight time, an amphibious Grumman G-44 airplane, N139F, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the surface of Tikchik Lake, about 50 miles north-northeast of Aleknagik, Alaska. The airplane was being operated by Freshwater Adventures, Dillingham, Alaska, as a visual flight rules, VFR positioning flight, under Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 91, when the accident occurred. The pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. Marginal visual meteorological (MVFR) conditions prevailed in the area of the accident, and company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight departed Dillingham, about 1600. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on October 10, a local hunting guide who witnessed the accident, along with his client, were waiting for the accident airplane’s arrival for a return trip to Dillingham. He said that when the airplane arrived overhead, it made several passes over the lake and island where they were located. After the third pass overhead, the airplane came into view in front of their location very low over the water. He said the airplane rolled into a left turn, and the left wing float struck the water. The airplane then veered sharply to the left, bounced, and cartwheeled three times. After the accident, the airplane came to rest, partially submerged, with its high-mounted wings level with the surface of the lake. The witnesses were unable to reach the airplane in the icy water, and the airplane subsequently sank about 5 or 10 minutes after the accident. There was no sign of the pilot. The witness reported that weather conditions at the time of the accident consisted of calm wind, low clouds, light rain, and fog restricting visibility over the lake. He added that the water was glassy at the time of the accident. On October 9, the wreckage was located on the bottom of the lake in about 40 feet of water. INJURIES TO PERSONS The solo pilot received fatal injuries. DAMAGE TO AIRCRAFT The airplane sank to the bottom of a lake, and has not been recovered. PERSONNEL INFORMATION The pilot age 71, held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land and sea, and airplane multi-engine land and sea. He was issued a first class airman medical certificate without limitations on April 23, 2012. No personal flight records were discovered for the pilot, and the aeronautical experience listed on page 3 of this report was obtained from a review of the airman’s FAA records on file in the Airman and Medical Records Center in Oklahoma City. On the pilot’s last application for medical certificate, dated April 23, 2012, he indicated that his total aeronautical experience consisted of about 30,000 hours, of which he listed 0 hours were accrued in the previous 6 months. AIRCRAFT INFORMATION The airplane was a Grumman G44, N139F, manufactured in 1944, and equipped with two Continental Motors IO-470 series engines. No airframe or engine logbooks were discovered for examination, and the airplane was not recovered for further examination. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION According to a witness, calm wind, low clouds, light rain, and fog restricted visibility over the lake. He added that the water was glassy at the time of the accident. The closest official weather observation station was at the departure airport, Dillingham, AK (PADL), about 68 miles south of the accident site. At 1553, an aviation routine weather report (METAR) was reporting, in part: Wind 070 degrees (true) at 5 knots; visibility 15 statute miles; sky condition, scattered at 1,300 feet, overcast at 3,000 feet; temperature 58 degrees F; dew point, 58 degrees F; altimeter 30.09 inHg. COMMUNICATIONS After departing Dillingham, no communications were heard from the accident airplane, and no air traffic control services were requested. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The airplane impacted the surface of a remote lake and subsequently sank. A witness reported seeing the airplane cartwheel across the surface of the lake, after the left wing float touched the surface during a low pass over glassy water. Scuba divers located the wreckage in water about 40 feet deep, and recovered the deceased pilot. The wreckage has not been recovered for examination. MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION A postmortem examination of the pilot was done under the authority of the Alaska State Medical Examiner, Anchorage, Alaska, on September 4, 2012. The examination revealed that the cause of death was attributed to drowning. A toxicological examination by the FAA’s Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) on December 12, 2012, was negative for any alcohol or drugs.
The pilot's decision to make multiple low passes over the glassy surface water, which resulted in an impact with the surface of the lake.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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