20020524018979I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Ayres S2C · Edgewater, MD · May 24, 2002

Date: May 24, 2002 · 16:30 local
Place: Edgewater, MD
Phase of flight: Descent
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N320BF
Reported as: Ayres S2C
Reported engine: Lycoming AEIO540D4A5
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 7,500 total

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) The instructor pilot and his student were returning to base after an aerobatic instructional flight. The pitts S2C experienced a sudden loss of power beyond gliding distance to the airport. The CFI decided that a water landing would be the best option considering their circumstance. The aircraft landed and sunk in 15 feet of water and was later recovered, the occupants swam to a nearby boat and were uninjured.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT AND HIS STUDENT WERE RETURNING TO BASE AFTER AN AEROBATIC INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT. THE PITTS S2C EXPERIENCED A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER BEYOND GLIDING DISTANCE TO THE AIRPORT. THE CFI DECIDED THAT A WATER LANDING WOULD BE THE BEST OPTION CONSIDERING THEIR CIRCUMSTANCE. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED AND SUNK IN 15 FEET OF WATER AND WAS LATER RECOVERED, THE OCCUPANTS SWAM TO A NEARBY BOAT AND WERE UNINJURED.