20190512004539I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Icon A5 · Lake Tapps, WA · May 12, 2019

Date: May 12, 2019 · 13:32 local
Place: Lake Tapps, WA
Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N539SW
Reported as: Icon A5
Reported engine: ROTAX 912 IS
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Private pilot
Pilot’s flight hours: 360 total23 in this make and model4 in the last 90 days

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.

During landing in a lake, the pilot misjudged the height of waves in choppy water caused by boats in the area. The aircraft hit the top of a wave and bounced, but did not have power to go around. The second touch down hit hard on top of another wave, causing a piece of trim to detach from lower part of the hull. The aircraft began to take on water, at which point the aircraft was moved to shallow water at the edge of the lake.

As the FAA filed it

DURING LANDING IN A LAKE, THE PILOT MISJUDGED THE HEIGHT OF WAVES IN CHOPPY WATER CAUSED BY BOATS IN THE AREA. THE AIRCRAFT HIT THE TOP OF A WAVE AND BOUNCED, BUT DID NOT HAVE POWER TO GO AROUND. THE SECOND TOUCH DOWN HIT HARD ON TOP OF ANOTHER WAVE, CAUSING A PIECE OF TRIM TO DETACH FROM LOWER PART OF THE HULL. THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO TAKE ON WATER, AT WHICH POINT THE AIRCRAFT WAS MOVED TO SHALLOW WATER AT THE EDGE OF THE LAKE.