# NTSB CHI05CA169: Kelley Volmer Amphibian B, N47111, Nauvoo, IL, July 2, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 2, 2005, 15:00 local (20:00 UTC) - Place: Nauvoo, IL - Coordinates: 40.5475, -91.384719 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.5475&lon=-91.3847&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report October 27, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - Springfield FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 61974 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI05CA169 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/61974/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05CA169 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain appropriate airspeed during landing, which resulted in a stall/mush condition and hard landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare/touchdown - airspeed - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - stall/mush - inadvertent, pilot in command (cause) - Nose over, landing - flare/touchdown ## Analysis While attempting a water landing, the amphibian airplane impacted the water in a nose-low attitude and nosed over into the water after a second impact with the water. The pilot reported that the airplane impacted the wake of a speedboat that had crossed beneath the airplane during final approach. The passenger reported that the pilot told him that he "stalled the airplane" during landing. The passenger's daughter recorded the accident on videotape. A review of the videotape showed the airplane making a low altitude, level turn toward video camera. The recorded engine noise was consistent with an idle engine power setting. The airplane transitioned to a nose-down attitude and impacted the water. The recorded engine noise increased after the airplane transitioned to the nose low attitude. The airplane bounced off the water and nosed over after a second impact with the water. There was no evidence of a speedboat or rough water around the accident airplane during the accident sequence. ## Factual narrative On July 2, 2005, at 1500 central daylight time (cdt), an amateur-built Kelley Volmer Amphibian B, N47111, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing on the Mississippi River near Nauvoo, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries. The local area flight departed Nauvoo, Illinois, at 1445 cdt. The pilot reported that on final approach he was "surprised" by a multiengine speedboat crossing beneath the airplane from the airplane's right to left. The pilot stated that upon landing the airplane "struck [the speedboat's] large wake crossways." The pilot reported that the airplane's nose was damaged during the impact and on the second touchdown the airplane nosed over into the water. The passenger was interviewed by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector after the accident. According to the passenger, the pilot told him that he "stalled the airplane" during landing. The passenger's daughter recorded the accident on videotape. A copy of this videotape was supplied to the National Transportation Safety Board. The following factual observations were made from the video: The video camera was situated on the riverbank. The airplane made a low altitude, level turn toward the video camera. The recorded engine noise was consistent with an idle engine power setting. The airplane transitioned to a nose-down attitude and impacted the water. The recorded engine noise increased after the airplane transitioned to the nose low attitude. The airplane bounced off the water and nosed over after a second impact with the water. There was no evidence of a speedboat or rough water around the accident airplane during the accident sequence. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N47111](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N47111-2017-07-07), registration cancelled 2017-07-07, S/N 65, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Kelley Volmer Amphibian B - Registry model: [Kelley VOLMER AMPHIBIAN "B"](https://openairdocs.org/model/kelley-volmer-amphibian-b) (registry code 9570408) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-290 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-290-series) (registry code 41506, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 65 - Airframe hours: 1060 - Engines: Lycoming O-290-G4 125 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Ray Aerial Spraying, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, April 1, 2005, 75 hours before - Departed: Nauvoo, IL - Destination: Nauvoo, IL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 54; injuries: minor; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review September 1, 2004; seat: left; flight hours: 6,313 total, 350 in this make and model, 6,313 as pilot in command, 75 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 77 °F, dew point 59 °F - Altimeter: 29.96 inHg - Observed at: EOK, 6 nm away ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050702034069A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050702034069A), Jul 2, 2005: Kelley VOLMERAMPHIB, Nauvoo, IL, Destroyed. (-23) The aircraft attempted to land on the Mississippi river near Nauvoo, Illinois. Pilot reported no engine anomalies but stated that he had made a hard… ## Other investigations on N47111 (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 CHI82DA163](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI82DA163), May 13, 1982: Volmer Amphibian (N47111), Muskegon, MI, substantial damage 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.