Maule M5C N5643Y

Summary

On 21 June 1997 at about 18:30 local time, a Maule M5C registered N5643Y was involved in an accident near Lino Lakes, Minnesota, 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

21 June 1997 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lino Lakes, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Surfside Seaplane Base (8Y4)

Coordinates

45.1496, -92.9590

Aircraft

Maule M5C

Registration

N5643Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI97LA176

Nobody was injured.

the flight instructor's inadequate preflight planning/preparation, his the improper lowering of flaps for takeoff, his failure to use a longer available area for takeoff, and his failure to abort the takeoff before there was an insufficient amount of area remaining to abort. The encounter with high vegetation was a related factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The owner/pilot had just purchased the airplane, and was seeking instruction in the aircraft to fulfill his insurance requirements. He referenced the Pilot's Operating Handbook and noted to the CFI that the configuration for takeoffs in water was with 35 degrees of flaps. The CFI responded that only 15 degrees of flaps were needed. The owner reported, 'during the takeoff run it seemed to me that we had difficulty getting on a good step situation.' The owner further said, 'at the point where an aborted takeoff should have been executed, I saw him [CFI] reach for what I was certain would be the power and an aborted takeoff. Instead, he [CFI] reached for the flap handle and put the flaps at 35 degrees and horsed back on the controls so that the nose did come up, but there was no way we could avoid hitting the shore which was covered with bull bushes.' The airplane contacted the high grasses, nosed over, and came to rest inverted 150 feet from the shoreline. The CFI reported, 'I was a little too late in aborting the takeoff.' The seaplane base operator reported that the CFI elected to use a shortened portion of the lake for the takeoff run, and could have extended the takeoff run by a half a mile by changing the takeoff heading by ten degrees.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.