N9011T – CESSNA 182C – 2011-08-27 NTSB Accident Report

On August 27, 2011, a Cessna 182C (N9011T) was involved in an incident near Grand Marais, MN. All 4 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's delayed decision to land the airplane when he realized the airplane's performance was insufficient to clear approaching terrain during the initial climb after takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight planning.

The local scenic flight departed from a lake in a southeasterly direction, and the wind was reported at 8 knots from the south/southeast. Shortly after becoming airborne to approximately 100 feet above ground level, the pilot noted the airplane's airspeed was not increasing as he expected, and the airplane was not climbing. In an attempt to increase airspeed and ultimately gain altitude, the pilot lowered the nose, but the airspeed did not increase. Due to the terrain ahead of the airplane, the pilot attempted a landing on the remaining lake area. During the attempted landing, the airplane's floats contacted terrain, which was located between the main lake and a bay, and the airplane nosed over.

This incident is documented in NTSB report CEN11CA600. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N9011T.