SPOKANE, WA, USA
N120TH
CESSNA 206
The pilot experienced a longer than expected takeoff run because of difficulty getting the aircraft's floats to lift from the glassy water. After becoming airborne, and while he was attempting to clear a transmission wire near the end of the takeoff area, the aircraft stalled/mushed into the terrain.
On August 30, 1995, approximately 1640 Pacific daylight time (PDT), a float-equipped Cessna 206, N120TH, collided with the terrain just after takeoff from a river near Spokane, Washington. The private pilot and the front seat passenger received minor injuries, both rear seat passengers were uninjured, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The personal pleasure flight, which was departing the Spokane River for Flathead Lake, Montana, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation. According to the FAA inspector who interviewed the pilot at the scene of the accident, the pilot had trouble getting the floats to lift from the glassy water, and therefore experienced a longer than expected takeoff run. After getting airborne, he attempted to clear some power lines in the aircraft's path. During this sequence, the aircraft stalled and impacted the rocky shoreline of the river.
the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while trying to clear a transmission wire. Factors include a transmission wire near the end of the takeoff area and glassy water.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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