# NTSB CHI05CA265: Aviat A-1B, N7QR, Drummond Island, MI, September 11, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 11, 2005, 12:30 local (16:30 UTC) - Place: Drummond Island, MI - Coordinates: 46.009166, -83.743888 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.0092&lon=-83.7439&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 62508 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI05CA265 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62508/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI05CA265 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to adequately compensate for the wind conditions, his failure to perform a go-around, and he flared improperly. Factors included the downdraft and the shoreline. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Hard landing, landing - flare - improper, pilot in command (cause) - go-around - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - compensation for wind conditions - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - weather condition - downdraft (contributing factor) - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - porpoise/pilot-induced oscillation - encountered, pilot in command - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - ground (contributing factor) - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The float-equipped airplane sustained substantial damage during a water landing on a sheltered bay. The pilot reported that he decided to land on a bay that he had landed on many times previously. The pilot reported that the water on the bay was calm and sheltered from the wind. During the approach he experienced wind buffets as he flew over the tress. He reported, "We then experienced a downdraft which I tried to hold off the floats, but the right float hit hard, veering the plane to the right." The airplane began to porpoise up and down toward the shore. He attempted to stop the porpoising by pulling back on the stick. The airplane impacted the rocky shoreline and nosed over. The inspection of the flight control system did not reveal any evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction. ## Factual narrative On September 11, 2005, at 1230 eastern daylight time, a float-equipped Aviat A-1B, N7QR, sustained substantial damage during a water landing on a bay near Drummond Island, Michigan. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight departed Maple Island, Michigan, at 1030 on a local flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed. The pilot reported that he decided to land in a bay on the northeast side of Drummond Island. He reported that he had landed on the bay many times previously. The pilot reported that the water on the bay was calm and sheltered from the wind. He reported that during the approach he experienced wind buffets as he flew over the tress. He reported, "We then experienced a downdraft which I tried to hold off the floats, but the right float hit hard, veering the plane to the right." The airplane began to porpoise up and down toward the shore. He attempted to stop the porpoising by pulling back on the stick. The airplane impacted the rocky shoreline and nosed over. The pilot and passenger evacuated the airplane without injury. A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector examined the airplane. He reported that the inspection of the flight control system did not reveal any evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7QR](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N7QR), registered now, S/N 2013, built 1999 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Aviat A-1B - Registry model: [Aviat A-1B](https://openairdocs.org/model/aviat-a-1b) (registry code 2210406) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 2013 - Engines: Lycoming O-360 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Delta Fox II LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: Y66, Drummond Island, MI ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 32; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2; flight hours: 2,086 total, 100 in this make and model, 51 in the last 90 days, 18 in the last 30 days ## 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20050911024679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050911024679A), Sep 11, 2005: Aviat A1B, Drummond Island, MI, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot states it was a gusty wind day. After sighseeing over Drummond Island, pilot decided to land on a bay northeast of the Island, which he had been to… 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.