NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On June 19, 2002, approximately 1340 Pacific daylight time, a Canadian-registered Consolidated Aeronautics LA-4-200 amphibian airplane, registration C-GHIT, registered to and being flown by a private pilot, was substantially damaged in a loss of control and collision with terrain during an attempted go-around from landing on runway 34 at Pierce County Airport/Thun Field, Puyallup, Washington. The pilot was seriously injured in the accident, and one passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions, with winds from 350 degrees true at 7 knots, were reported at McChord Air Force Base, Washington, at 1255, and a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan had been filed for the 14 CFR 91 flight from Port Townsend, Washington.

Investigators from the NTSB and FAA responded to the accident scene and performed an on-site examination of the aircraft on the day of the accident. The on-site examination revealed a generally northwesterly path of broken trees down to the aircraft, which came to rest upright and heading approximately southeast in a grove of trees on airport property west of the 3,650-by-60-foot runway. The vertical angle from the aircraft up to the broken treetops was estimated at 20 degrees above horizontal. Elevator and rudder continuity was established from the pilot's flight controls back to the respective control surfaces. It was not possible to examine aileron flight control continuity on-scene, due to the site conditions and extent of aircraft damage. Fuel was found in the aircraft's main tank. The aircraft's landing gear and flaps were down. A slash was noted in the upper right side of the fuselage in plane with the aircraft's propeller (the aircraft employs a single engine with a pusher propeller, mounted in a dorsal nacelle which had collapsed to the right.)

Subsequent to the on-scene examination, on June 25, 2002, the accident pilot/aircraft owner contacted the NTSB investigator-in-charge by telephone. During this contact, the accident pilot reported that he was flying the aircraft at the time. He stated that the landing approach was normal up to the runway threshold, but that as the aircraft came over the threshold, it ballooned about 10 to 15 feet into the air, and veered to the left toward parked aircraft and hangars. The pilot said he then added power to go around, but that the airplane's stall warning horn came on and the aircraft subsequently collided with the trees. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the controls or the engine during the accident.

PILOT INFORMATION

The pilot holds a US private pilot certificate (single engine land and sea) issued on the basis of a Canadian pilot license. In a report submitted to the NTSB, the pilot indicated that his total flight time was approximately 514 hours, including approximately 130 hours in make and model. The report indicated that the pilot completed a flight review on March 27, 2002 and that he holds a current third class medical issued on December 18, 2001.

NTSB Probable Cause

Failure to maintain aircraft control during a go-around. Trees were a factor in the accident.