20150908023479I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Swanson Floyd W KITFOX II · Bayport, NY · September 8, 2015

Date: September 8, 2015 · 07:15 local
Place: Bayport, NY
Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N52414
Reported as: Swanson Floyd W Kitfox II
Reported engine: Bombardier ROTAX (ALL)
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Airline transport
Pilot’s flight hours: 5,000 total1 in this make and model13 in the last 90 days

N52414Registration cancelled Mar 30, 2018 · Swanson Floyd W KITFOX IIS/N 734 Airframe modelSwanson Floyd W KITFOX II Engine modelBombardier ROTAX (ALL)Reciprocating

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.

After a successful takeoff and landing on the water, the pilot had difficulty steering back to the beach due to windy conditions and possible water in the left float. The pilot elected to take off again in an effort to get the aircraft closer to the beach. After take-off at approxmitely 30 feet AGL, the aircraft banked left and crashed into the water. It also appears that the pilot took off on a 180 degree heading with the wind direction blowing from 220 degrees at 15 knots. The water was rough with whitecaps.

As the FAA filed it

AFTER A SUCCESSFUL TAKEOFF AND LANDING ON THE WATER, THE PILOT HAD DIFFICULTY STEERING BACK TO THE BEACH DUE TO WINDY CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE WATER IN THE LEFT FLOAT. THE PILOT ELECTED TO TAKE OFF AGAIN IN AN EFFORT TO GET THE AIRCRAFT CLOSER TO THE BEACH. AFTER TAKE-OFF AT APPROXMITELY 30 FEET AGL, THE AIRCRAFT BANKED LEFT AND CRASHED INTO THE WATER. IT ALSO APPEARS THAT THE PILOT TOOK OFF ON A 180 DEGREE HEADING WITH THE WIND DIRECTION BLOWING FROM 220 DEGREES AT 15 KNOTS. THE WATER WAS ROUGH WITH WHITECAPS.