# NTSB ERA24LA324: Lake LA4, N1166L, Catskill, NY, July 25, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: July 25, 2024, 16:30 local (20:30 UTC) - Place: Catskill, NY · Hudson River - Coordinates: 42.20835, -73.850346 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.2084&lon=-73.8503&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - 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 - NTSB case key (mKey): 194770 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA24LA324 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194770/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194770 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA324 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during a takeoff from water in gusting wind conditions. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Lake LA-4, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=5110302), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Lake LA-4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=5110302), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Wind: gusts](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045): Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena · Response/compensation; cases with it: [Lake LA-4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045/cases.md?model=5110302), [All aircraft, 1,199 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03034045/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Lake LA-4, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=5110302), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Takeoff: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Lake LA-4, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=5110302), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot of the amphibious airplane reported that he landed on a river uneventfully. After taxiing on the river for a while, he noticed that the wind had increased when he attempted to take off. As soon as the airplane lifted off from the water, it settled back down and violently turned 90°. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and that he was able to taxi to a boat ramp after the impact with water. The airplane’s empennage was substantially damaged during the accident. The reported weather at an airport located 28 miles away from the accident site, about the time of the accident, included a left quartering headwind at 9 knots, gusting to 22 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N1166L](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1166L), registered now, S/N 328, built 1965 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: LAKE LA4 - Registry model: [Lake LA-4](https://openairdocs.org/model/lake-la-4) (registry code 5110302) (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: 328 - Year built: 1965 - Airframe hours: 177 - Engines: LYCOMING IO360 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, July 11, 2024, 1 hours before - Destination: 1B1, Hudson, NY - Equipment: Handheld GPS, ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 71; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review September 1, 2023; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 510 total, 410 in this make and model, 510 as pilot in command, 13 in the last 90 days, 2 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 290° at 9 knots, gusting 22 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 30.01 inHg - Observed at: PSF, 28 nm away - METAR: KPSF 252054Z AUTO 29009G22KT 10SM SCT055 24/12 A3001 RMK AO2 SLP136 T02440122 56007 ## 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 20240725009249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240725009249A), Jul 25, 2024: Lake LA-4, Catskill, NY, Substantial damage. On 07/25/2024, a Lake amphibious LA-4 aircraft, with only the pilot on board, operated a personal flight under 14 CFR part 91 and was departing northbound from… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 4, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194770. 2.3 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 2.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17525417&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Weather report (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 41 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17525285&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Metars%202-Rel.pdf - Investigation photographs (item 3, PDF, 3 pages, 2 photos, 292 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=17524977&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigation%20Photographs-Rel.pdf 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.