What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The pilot departed remote lake approximately 40 miles southwest of Bettles, AK. Upon departure from remote lake, pilot took off and executed a right-hand turn to the north, into the wind. The pilot then executed a second right-hand turn in an attempt to gain altitude by "flying the lake", at an altitude of approximately 20 to 30 feet off of the water. Pilot encountered a downdraft that caused the aircraft to land hard on the water, sustaining damage to the right-hand float and the fuselage. The pilot was able to taxi aircraft to the shoreline.
As the FAA filed it
THE PILOT DEPARTED REMOTE LAKE APPROXIMATELY 40 MILES SOUTHWEST OF BETTLES, AK. UPON DEPARTURE FROM REMOTE LAKE, PILOT TOOK OFF AND EXECUTED A RIGHT-HAND TURN TO THE NORTH, INTO THE WIND. THE PILOT THEN EXECUTED A SECOND RIGHT-HAND TURN IN AN ATTEMPT TO GAIN ALTITUDE BY "FLYING THE LAKE", AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 20 TO 30 FEET OFF OF THE WATER. PILOT ENCOUNTERED A DOWNDRAFT THAT CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO LAND HARD ON THE WATER, SUSTAINING DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT-HAND FLOAT AND THE FUSELAGE. THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO TAXI AIRCRAFT TO THE SHORELINE.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.