20120427006819A

On April 27, 2012, about 1630 CST, an Aviat aircraft, A-1B, N388AS, single engine seaplane, stalled during a steep climb to avoid trees on lay lake, and crashed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot received no injury, the student pilot was seriously injuried, and the aircraft incurred substantial damage. The student pilot's fingers were broken, collapsed ribs, hips injured, and knees injured. The student was flown to university hospital in birmingham, AL for medical treatment. The pilot stated that the student landed the aircraft on the water in a southwest heading. During departure the aircraft performed ok on step, but during the climb phase of flight, the aircraft failed to accelerate after eliminating water drag.a witness stated that he watched the aircraft take off in a westward direction; the aircraft became airborne and turned northward. It sounded like some thing broke, and the aircraft did a nose dive and crashed. The video tape of the accident revealed that the aircraft was airborne in a westward direction through 50 ft, and to avoid the housing area the aircraft turned northward. The aircraft started climbing, and entered a stall/spin, and nose dived into the water on the northern bank of the lake. Examination of the wreckage revealed that all flight controls were present, flight controls and engine continuity checks were established, and fuel was in both aircraft fuel tanks. The propeller received minor impact damage but turned freely, and the engine was not compromised, and was taken to nashvile, Tennessee for further evaluation.