Lake LA-4-200 accident near Charlotte, North Carolina, June 13, 1999
On June 13, 1999 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Lake LA-4-200, registered N142JM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Charlotte, North Carolina. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot misjudged the flare during the landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 13, 1999 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Charlotte, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lake LA-4-200 · all LA-4-200s on the register
- Registration
- N142JM · registry record · serial 1009
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While taking off from a lake, the airplane struck a large wave (wake), was catapulted into the air, and then settled back to the water. At this point the airplane was again catapulted into the air by a second wave. The pilot aborted the takeoff, and 'intended to tail land' into the water. The tail of the airplane struck the water and the nose dropped through level flight, struck the water in a nose down attitude, and came to a stop. The pilot said he remembered hearing the engine still running so he reached up and moved the mixture to idle cutoff. Boaters helped the pilot attempt to tow the airplane to shore. About 25 yards from shore the airplane nosed over and the tail stood straight up. The airplane continued to go nose down in the water and sank upside down.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,334 hours in all; 73 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 2,187 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,530 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 1, 1998; 25 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,690 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:54 pm from CLT
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA99LA178.