20080911851819I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Republ RC-3 · Lake Tahoe, NV · September 11, 2008

Date: September 11, 2008 · 11:05 local
Place: Lake Tahoe, NV
Phase of flight: Taxi
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N5166B
Reported as: Republ RC3
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 20,000 total20 in this make and model40 in the last 90 days

N5166BRegistered now · Republic RC-3S/N 1000 · Built 1947 Airframe modelRepublic RC-3 Engine modelLycoming GSO&IGSO-480 seriesReciprocating

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) RC-3 sank during water taxi at the north end of Lake Tahoe, NV. Owner reported that the left wing pontoon was bent outward during the landing event and allowed the aircraft to list left wing down after the water landing. The owner attempted to water taxi to shore but the left wing contacted the water causing the aircraft to roll inverted and sink into the shallow water.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) RC-3 SANK DURING WATER TAXI AT THE NORTH END OF LAKE TAHOE, NV. OWNER REPORTED THAT THE LEFT WING PONTOON WAS BENT OUTWARD DURING THE LANDING EVENT AND ALLOWED THE AIRCRAFT TO LIST LEFT WING DOWN AFTER THE WATER LANDING. THE OWNER ATTEMPTED TO WATER TAXI TO SHORE BUT THE LEFT WING CONTACTED THE WATER CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO ROLL INVERTED AND SINK INTO THE SHALLOW WATER.