- Date
- August 1, 2004, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Oshkosh, WI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N1056LLake LA4-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20040801028269A
- Case key
- 59941
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The unsuitable rough water conditions encountered during the attempted water takeoff.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The amphibious airplane was damaged when it reportedly encountered a large wave during a water takeoff and subsequently impacted the water.
Factual narrative
On August 1, 2004, about 1030 central daylight time, a Lake LA4-200 amphibian, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage during a water takeoff from Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. There were no injuries to the pilot or passenger. The flight had originally departed from Cushing Field Airport near Newark, Illinois, about 0900, and was bound for the Seaplane Base at the annual Experimental Aircraft Association gathering in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The pilot reported that he landed mistook a harbor for the seaplane base and landed. He said that after he realized that he was north of the seaplane base, he attempted to takeoff. He said that during the water takeoff, he encountered a large wave that "launched" the airplane into the air prior to achieving takeoff speed. He said that the airplane was damaged when the airplane came down and impacted the water.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1056L
- Reported as
- Lake LA4-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 649
- Airframe hours
- 720.5
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Jack D. Lupei
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 10, 2004 · 4.5 hours before
- Departed
- Oshkosh, WI
- Destination
- 0C8 · Newark, IL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 55
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- September 22, 2002
- Flight hours
- 668 total · 108 in this make and model · 469 as pilot in command · 4 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.