# Incident 20260307004439I: Cessna 170B, Tavares, FL, March 7, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 7, 2026, 12:00 local time
- Place: Tavares, FL
- Airport: Tavares Seaplane Base
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 28.8005° N, 81.7277° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.8005&lon=-81.7277&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8285A, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8285A) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 170B (registry code 2072306, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-170b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C145 series (registry code 17012, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c145-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 170B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 8,800 total, 3,100 in this make and model, 75 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260307004439I

## Narrative

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

TWO PERSONS ONBOARD, PILOT AND SPOUSE. ON 03/07/2026 AT APPROXIMATELY 12:00 EST (1700Z) PILOT WAS DESCENDING TO WATERWAY 9W FOR LANDING. VIDEO OBTAINED FROM A WITNESS, SHOWS THE AIRCRAFT APPROACH AT A RAPID RATE OF DESCENT. AIRCRAFT HIT THE WATER HARD, BOUNCED AND HIT HARD AGAIN THEN PITCHED FORWARD CAUSING THE PROPELLER TO IMPACT THE LEFT FLOAT. PILOT AND PASSENGER THEN EXITED THE AIRCRAFT WITH NO INJURIES. AIRCRAFT WAS TOWED TO SHORE FOR RECOVERY.

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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