Smith Bret B SEAREY N169GW

Summary

On 6 June 2009 at about 21:44 local time, a Smith Bret B SEAREY registered N169GW was involved in an accident near Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 June 2009 at 21:44

Classification

Accident

Location

Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Coordinates

35.9289, -84.2581

Aircraft

Smith Bret B SEAREY

Registration

N169GW

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Knoxville → Knoxville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA09LA325

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, resulting in an aerodynamic stall and uncontrolled descent.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was providing rides to passengers in an amateur-built seaplane, and following a previous uneventful local flight with another passenger, the pilot returned, landed, and the accident passenger boarded. The final moments of the accident flight were captured on video by pleasure boaters. The airplane overflew the boat at a low altitude, then entered a steep bank, descended steeply, and impacted the water. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the engine or flight controls. According to the experimental seaplane’s kit manufacturer, when equipped with a 100 horsepower engine and loaded with 2 occupants, the stall speed in level flight was 40 miles per hour.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.