ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 44733
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| Date: | Saturday 21 August 2004 |
| Time: | 11:45 |
| Type: |  Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N1238L |
| MSN: | 737 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1112 hours |
| Engine model: | Textron Lycoming IO-360-A1B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Oroville, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Oroville, CA |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The amphibious airplane collided with the surface of a lake just after takeoff while flying low over the glassy-surfaced water. According to witnesses, the airplane was about 20 feet above the water and traveling about 70 miles per hour. Then, it "kissed" the surface, abruptly climbed up about 50 feet, turned to the left, and then descended into the water. Post-accident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies. The airplane was equipped with pontoons on each wing that were secured to the wings using two forward brackets and a smaller aft attachment. The left pontoon was torn from the wing and located in the floating debris field. The right wing pontoon's aft attachment secured it to the wing; however, the pontoon had rotated from its installation position approximately 270 degrees and was lying with its right side flush against the bottom surface of the wing. The pontoon attach brackets remained on the wing structure and were bent in an inboard direction. The damage to the airplane, and the right pontoon deformation, was consistent with the right pontoon impacting the water unevenly first, with the final impact consistent with a nose and left wing down attitude. The pilot had accumulated about 278 hours in seaplanes prior to the accident and had last landed the airplane on water about 3 months prior to the accident. The pilot's toxicology report was positive for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine which, would not have a negative effect on the pilot's performance.
Probable Cause: the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the water's surface, which resulted in his dragging of the right wing pontoon during low-altitude flight. The glassy-surfaced water was a contributing factor to the accident.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20040828X01302&key=1
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Oct-2008 00:45 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Dec-2017 18:17 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
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