- Date
- April 29, 2014, 18:40 local (22:40 UTC)
- Place
- Chapin, SC
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N1029LLake LA-4
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 2, 2014
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20140429005909A
- Case key
- 89173
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 pilot's improper flare, which resulted in abnormal contact with the water and separation of the right pontoon..
Findings · 4
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot of the amphibian airplane stated that the airplane was properly configured for landing on a lake, with the landing gear retracted and the flaps extended. The approach was normal; however, the pilot heard a loud bang immediately after touchdown and felt a lateral force in the cockpit. He then observed that the right wing pontoon had separated and he exited the cockpit before the airplane sank. Two witnesses were in a nearby boat and rescued the pilot. The witnesses reported that the pilot commented about the accident landing. He stated that it was only his fourth landing on the water and that the water was calm, which can affect depth perception. The witnesses added that the right wing pontoon contacted the water first, which spun the airplane. The airplane sank in an area of the lake that was approximately 120 feet deep. As of 60 days after the accident, the wreckage had not been located and recovered. The right pontoon was recovered. The pilot possessed a single-engine sea rating and reported 21 hours in the make and model airplane. He also reported 4,360 total hours of flight experience.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the amphibian airplane stated that the airplane was properly configured for landing on a lake, with the landing gear retracted and the flaps extended. The approach was normal; however, the pilot heard a loud bang immediately after touchdown and felt a lateral force in the cockpit. He then observed that the right wing pontoon had separated and he exited the cockpit before the airplane sank. Two witnesses were in a nearby boat and rescued the pilot. The witnesses reported that the pilot commented about the accident landing. He stated that it was only his fourth landing on the water and that the water was calm, which can affect depth perception. The witnesses added that the right wing pontoon contacted the water first, which spun the airplane. The airplane sank in an area of the lake that was approximately 120 feet deep. As of 60 days after the accident, the wreckage had not been located and recovered. The right pontoon was recovered.The pilot possessed a single-engine sea rating and reported 21 hours in the make and model airplane. He also reported 4,360 total hours of flight experience.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1029L
- Reported as
- Lake LA-4
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 272
- Built
- 1963
- Airframe hours
- 2,809
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jay E Seward II
- Registered owner
- Jay E Seward II
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 2013
- Departed
- FDW · Winnsboro, SC
- Destination
- Chapin, SC
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 61
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- April 17, 2014
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,360 total · 21 in this make and model · 2,837 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 23 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.87 inHg
- Observed at
- CAE, 19 nm away
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 13, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 2.9 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N1029L · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.