Lake LA-4-200 N48X

Summary

On 17 January 2026 at about 00:09 local time, a Lake LA-4-200 registered N48X was involved in an accident near Dewey, Washington, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

17 January 2026 at 00:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Dewey, Washington, United States

Coordinates

48.4385, -122.6140

Aircraft

Lake LA-4-200

Registration

N48X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burlington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR26LA090

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On January 16, 2026, at 1609 Pacific daylight time, a Lake LA-4-200, N48X sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Dewey, Washington. The flight instructor and student pilot were uninjured. The amphibious airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. The flight instructor stated that he was conducting familiarization training with a student. They departed Skagit Regional Airport (BVS), Burlington/Mount Vernon, Washington, and were performing water landings at Lake Campbell, Washington. Upon touching down on the water the nose pitched forward in the water, resulting in a broken windscreen and substantial damage to the airplane. The engine would not start so they paddled to shore. Preliminary examination of the airplane showed damage to the nose gear doors. The flight instructor believed that the nose landing gear was prevented from retracting completely due to wheel contact with the landing gear door. The flight instructor told investigators that he visually confirmed the main landing gear were retracted prior to landing using the convex mirrors located on the aircraft’s sponsons. The airplane was retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.