Cessna 180B N3125W

Summary

On 3 July 1990 at about 03:00 local time, a Cessna 180B registered N3125W was involved in an accident near Butterfly Lake, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

3 July 1990 at 03:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Butterfly Lake, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Butterfly Lake (NONE)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 180B

Registration

N3125W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC90LA113

Nobody was injured.

THE PILOT FAILED TO RETRACT THE AIRPLANE'S WHEEL PRIOR TO A WATER LANDING. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS ARE HIS FAILURE TO FOLLOW ESTABLISHED PROCEDURES/DIRECTIVES, AND HABIT INTERFERENCE CAUSED BY HIS CONCERN OVER AN AIR TRAFFIC CONFLICT DURING THE PRECEDING TAKEOFF.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT HE FORGOT TO RETRACT THE WHEEL PORTION OF HIS AMPHIBIOUS FLOAT EQUIPPED AIRPLANE FOLLOWING A TAKEOFF FROM A HARD SURFACED RUNWAY. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HE LANDED IN THE WATER WITH THE WHEELS EXTENDED AND IMMEDIATELY NOSED OVER. THE PILOT SAID THAT HE FELT RUSHED DURING HIS PRECEDING TAKEOFF DUE TO A POTENTIAL AIR TRAFFIC CONFLICT, AND HE SUSPECTS THAT HIS CONCERN FOR THE LOCATION OF THE APPROACHING TRAFFIC INTERRUPTED HIS NORMAL HABIT OF RETRACTING THE GEAR.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.