Glen Canyon Nat, UT, USA
N224MT
Cirrus Design Corp. SR22
The aircraft collided with the surface of a lake while flying at low altitude over the water. The pilot said that he was flying over a lake at 50 feet above the water; and that there was a good ripple on the water to give him an altitude reference. He said that he maneuvered the airplane into another section of the lake and he noted that he was approximately 25 feet above the water. The pilot said "a few moments later, near the center of the bay, the water turned to glass smooth, and I must have lost depth perception because in a moment we were touching [the] water." The pilot said the airplane decelerated rapidly, and it did not nose over or sink immediately. The pilot and his two passengers exited the aircraft with no injuries, but spent over an hour swimming to shore in the 44-degree water. They were rescued the from the shore following morning.
On February 24, 2007, at approximately 1430 Mountain Standard Time, a Cirrus SR-22, N224MT, was substantially damaged when it impacted the surface of Lake Powell and sank to the bottom in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah. The commercial pilot and his two passengers received minor injuries. The owner/pilot was operating the aircraft under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country, personal flight, which had originated approximately 30 minutes before the accident. A flight plan had not been filed. The pilot said that he was flying over Lake Powell at 50 feet above the water; he said there was a good ripple on the water to give him reference. He said that he maneuvered the airplane into another section of the lake and he noted that he was approximately 25 feet above the water. The pilot said "a few moments later, near the center of the bay, the water turned to glass smooth, and I must have lost depth perception because in a moment we were touching [the] water." The pilot said the airplane decelerated rapidly, and it did not nose over or sink immediately. The pilot and his two passengers exited the aircraft with no injuries, but spent over an hour swimming to shore in the 44-degree water. They were rescued the following morning.
The pilot's intentional flight over water at low altitude and his subsequent failure to maintain adequate clearance from the water. A contributing factor was the glassy surface condition of the lake.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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