Cessna 208 N12712

Summary

On 27 September 2001 at about 14:46 local time, a Cessna 208 registered N12712 was involved in an accident near Aurora, Minnesota, United States. 7 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

27 September 2001 at 14:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Aurora, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

47.5306, -92.2409

Aircraft

Cessna 208

Registration

N12712

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Minnetonka → Aurora

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI01LA326

Nobody was injured.

The pilot not maintaining the proper descent rate during the landing. Factors were the flap's popped circuit breaker, the pilot not verifying the flap's position, the glassy water, and the dock.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The floatplane sustained substantial damage on impact with water and a dock. The pilot and six passengers were uninjured. The pilot stated, "Once I cleared the [obstacles] I put the ignition on, prop full, fuel on both, flaps 20 [degrees] and checked gear up, powered back to get a good rate of descent over [obstacles] so I would not eat up the length of the lake positioning to land. (smooth surface) I came off the prop (as a brake) and began my round out higher than normal as I could feel an unusually high descent rate. In a matter seconds I could tell something was wrong as I rounded out and needed more bank angle to increase my turn rate. As I flared the plane continued to descend and the left float hit the water before I was ready and it hooked the plane immediately left about 45 [degrees] and then the rt float caught and began to slide sideways until we came to rest with the plane's tail up on the shore 90 [degrees] to the lake. ... After a while of sitting there I realized the flaps never came down when I put the handle down. The c/b [circuit breaker] was popped out." A witness stated, "Just as here cleared the shoreline, the plane started to drop and bank hard to the left (or south). For a short time I could not see the plane as it was blocked by the trees on the west bank. When it came back into view it was heading south and practically on the water. It seemed to come up short on the turn, kind of bounced a pontoon off the water or a dock causing the plane to rock. When it rocked back to the left it appeared to hook or dip the left wing into the water or maybe a rock point causing the plane to spin to the left and sideways. It hit the middle dock, which probably slowed it down and came to rest facing back to the east, resting in shallow water leaning to the right, propped up by the right wing." The airplane manual stated, "A standby system can be used to operate the flaps in the event the primary system should malfunction."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.