Cessna A185F N4603E

Summary

On 29 April 2009 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna A185F registered N4603E, operated by NMA Investments LLC, was involved in an accident near Patterson, Louisiana, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 April 2009 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Patterson, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

29.6044, -91.4731

Aircraft

Cessna A185F

Registration

N4603E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

NMA Investments LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Patterson → Patterson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09CA272

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed in a turn while attempting to return to land, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the reported loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The single-engine float plane was unable to maintain a climb after takeoff from a canal. The commercial pilot reported that after climbing to about 200 feet, he "felt like the aircraft was slowly losing power...and was starting to descend." The only available landing area was a canal that was located 90 degrees off the left side of the airplane. The pilot elected to turn left, and estimated that while in a 30-degree angle of bank the airplane “stalled.” The pilot was able to get the wings level prior to touchdown. The airplane impacted the water in a nose-down attitude and immediately nosed over and came to rest in an inverted position. The float landing gear separated from the fuselage during the impact and the airplane subsequently sank. The pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The reason for the reported loss of power was not determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.