Event WPR11LA209

Factual narrative

On April 23, 2011, about 1300 Pacific daylight time, a float equipped Cessna 182B airplane, N8435T, experienced a loss of engine power after takeoff from Colville Municipal Airport (63S), Colville, Washington. The pilot/owner operated the airplane under the provision of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight, and no flight plan had been filed.According to the pilot, he performed a magneto check and set the flaps to 20 degrees prior to takeoff on runway 19. During the climb out, he raised the flaps and landing gear. As the landing gear and flaps were retracted, the engine began to lose power, but never quit. The pilot lowered the airplane's nose and the airplane subsequently landed hard on the runway, and skidded to a stop. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wingtip, horizontal stabilizer, and elevator. The pilot stated that an annual inspection was performed in November 2010, and that the airplane had no other maintenance since the annual inspection. He had flown the airplane about 30 hours since the annual inspection. In the pilot's written statement, he reported that the airplane was about 200 feet when the engine went to idle and surged to full power and then back to idle. He lowered the nose to maintain airspeed, checked the fuel selector position, fuel boost pump, and "dumped flaps." He stated that the engine surged again and he reduced the throttle in order to avoid another engine surge. Close to the runway, he applied flaps and rotated for landing. As the landing gear was still in transit, once the airplane touched down, the landing gear collapsed and the airplane landed hard on the keels of the floats. The pilot stated that the airplane slid about 680 feet on the keels, and the engine was running at idle. The pilot reported that he applied full throttle and the engine surged and then went back to idle. At that point he pulled the mixture and the engine stopped running. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident site, the pilot stated that after becoming airborne, he adjusted the airplane's manual turbocharger, and that was when the airplane experienced a decrease in power. The pilot emphasized again that the engine did not quit. In order to avoid a power off descent, and landing off of the runway, the pilot pushed the flight controls forward and flew the airplane onto the remaining runway. This resulted in a hard landing and damage to the amphibious landing gear. The FAA inspector stated that the pilot's decision to land on the remaining runway was due to the obstacles at the end of the runway; a steep embankment, which included power lines, a nursing home, and private residences. The FAA inspector examined the airplane and engine and was not able to determine the reason for the loss of engine power. The engine controls and linkages appeared to operate normally, and the manually controlled turbocharger spun freely when manipulated. The electric fuel boost pump was activated and functioned normally. The spark plugs and fuel injectors were removed and appeared normal. Fuel samples were taken from the wing fuel tanks and firewall fuel strainer, and were clear of debris. After takeoff, the pilot raised the landing gear and flaps and manually manipulated the turbocharger. As he was adjusting the turbocharger, the engine power reduced to idle, surged to full power, and then reduced back to idle. To avoid obstacles at the end of the runway, the pilot pushed the flight controls forward and landed the airplane on the remaining runway. During the hard landing, the amphibious landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. A postaccident examination of the engine and related systems revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Fuel was found on board the airplane, and no evidence of fuel contamination was found. The reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined - C