# Accident 20251220019159A: Aviat Aircraft Inc A-1C-200, Hawthorne, FL, December 20, 2025

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 20, 2025, 17:00 local time
- Place: Hawthorne, FL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 29.5634° N, 82.0185° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.5634&lon=-82.0185&mi=10
- Aircraft: N656B, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N656B) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aviat A-1C-200 (registry code 2210411, https://openairdocs.org/model/aviat-a-1c-200) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1D6 (registry code 41822, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-360-a1d6) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AVIAT AIRCRAFT INC A-1C-200
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-360-A1D6
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 3,238 total, 21 in this make and model, 21 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA26LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26LA075) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20251220019159A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

PILOT DEPARTED AIRPORT FD04 AT APPROXIMATELY 4:28 PM LOCAL TIME.  AIRCRAFT DEPARTED SOUTHEAST TOWARD LAKE WEIR. AT LAKE WEIR TURN AIRCRAFT NORTHWARD TOWARD RED WATER LAKE FLYING APPROXIMATELY 1200 FEET TRAVELING AT ABOUT 80 KNOTS, CROSSED OVER RED WATER LAKE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH AND FOLLOWED THE SHORELINE FOR A SOUTH WEST TO NORTHEAST LANDING ON THE LAKE.  PILOT REPORTED THAT THE LAKE WAS GLASSY IN SECTIONS. WIND WAS FROM THE NORTHEAST AT FOUR, ACCORDING TO AIRCRAFT'S FLIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. PILOT STATED HE SET UP FOR A STABILIZED APPROACH, BUT DUE TO THE OPTICAL ILLUSION CREATED BY THE GLASSY LAKE SURFACE, RESULTED IN A HARD LANDING THAT CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO BOUNCE AND THEN MAKE CONTACT WITH THE LAKE SURFACE AGAIN, RESULTING IN A CARTWHEEL/ROLL ACROSS THE LAKE, SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGING IT.  PILOT WAS UNINJURED, AS HE WAS SECURED IN A FIVE POINT HARNESS.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ERA26LA075](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26LA075), Dec 20, 2025: Aviat A-1C-200 (N656B), Hawthorne, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate descent rate for a glassy water landing, which resulted in a hard landing.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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