Stol Aircraft UC-1 accident near Lake Hamilton, Florida, September 10, 1983
On September 10, 1983 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Stol Aircraft UC-1, registered N9510U, was destroyed in an accident near Lake Hamilton, Florida. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 10, 1983 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Lake Hamilton, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Stol Aircraft UC-1
- Registration
- N9510U · no longer on the register · serial 019
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE STUDENT WAS A COMMERCIAL PLT WITH RATINGS IN SINGLE & MULTI-ENG LAND & SINGLE ENG SEA ACFT. HE WAS ON HIS 1ST FLT IN THIS MAKE & MODEL OF ACFT TO RECEVE INSTRUCTION FOR A MULTI-ENG SEA RATING. AFTER INSTRUCTING WATER LANDINGS WITH FLAPS, THE INSTRUCTOR TOLD THE STUDENT TO MAKE A NO-FLAP LANDING ON THE WATER. ACCORDING TO THE STUDENT, THE LANDING APCH LOOKED NORMAL. WHEN HE RETARDED THE THROTTLES TO IDLE IN THE FLARE, HIS INSTRUCTOR SAID SOMETHING IN A LOUD VOICE. THEREAFTER, HE FOUND HIMSELF UNDER WATER. AFTER DISCONNECTING HS SEAT BELT, HE CAME TO THE SURFACE & WAS EVENTUALLY PICKED UP BY PERSONNEL IN A BOAT. THE STUDENT THOUGHT A DOOR MIGHT HAVE COME OPEN, BUT HE DID NOT KNOW. MOST OF THE WRECKAGE WAS RECOVERED. THE COCKPIT DOORS WERE NOT RECOVERED, BUT THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THEY HAD SEPARATED DURING IMPACT. MAJOR IMPACT DAMAGE TO THE ACFT WAS IN THE NOSE & COCKPIT AREA. NO PREIMPACT FAILURE WAS FOUND. THE 1250 EDT WIND AT LAKELAND, FL (7 MI WEST) WAS CALM. NO SHOULDER HARNESS INSTALLED, CFI FATALLY INJURED.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,623 hours in all; 657 in this make and model; 134 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,400 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 22, 1983; 101 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-B1D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GIF Winter Haven FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 pm from LAL, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.