- Date
- January 23, 2021, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Terrell, NC · In Lake Norman
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N480FAviat A1
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- Case key
- 102560
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 failure to retract the landing gear on the amphibious airplane prior to a water landing, resulting in a nose over and structural damage to the airframe. The mechanic’s failure to remove electrical tape from the pitot tube, the pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, and the pilot’s failure to visually confirm the landing gear position prior to touchdown were all factors in the accident.
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 was performing a repositioning flight following the completion of an annual inspection. After departing from a runway in his amphibious airplane, he observed a large, open area on a nearby lake and decided to perform a touch-and-go landing. Upon touchdown, the airplane flipped over and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. Due to his injuries, the pilot had no recollection of the accident. An inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration reported that, during wreckage recovery from the lake, all four landing gear wheels were in the extended positions, and the landing gear handle was in the “Down Land” position. He also noted that the pilot tube was covered in black electrical tape, blocking airflow through the tube. A pitot/static discrepancy was found during the annual inspection and the repair was deferred. The airplane was equipped with a backup landing gear position advisory system that would provide an audible message confirming the position of the gear prior to landing; however, the audible component would not work properly if the pilot tube was obstructed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N480F
- Reported as
- Aviat A1 (B)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2357
- Built
- 2007
- Airframe hours
- 420
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1P, 180 hp, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 22, 2021 · 0 hours before
- Departed
- 14A · Mooresville, NC
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- NONE · Lake
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, ADS-B
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
- 68
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 28, 2019
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 25,000 total · 75 in this make and model · 20,000 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 320° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 5 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.18 inHg
- Observed at
- SVH, 10 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 13, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 10.4 MB in all.