# NTSB ERA24LA372: Textron 208B, N143CA, New York, NY, September 4, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: September 4, 2024, 17:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: New York, NY · East River, NY - Coordinates: 40.729625, -73.967238 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.7296&lon=-73.9672&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 3 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): 195077 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA24LA372 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/195077/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=195077 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA372 ## Probable cause The pilot’s improper decision to rush his departure, which resulted in a rough water encounter and collision with the wake of a passing ferry boat. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Textron 208B, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2073712), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470) (defining event); cases with it: [Textron 208B, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2073712), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot explained that there was nothing wrong with the amphibious airplane as he completed his seven previous flights that day and began his eighth takeoff from a river. During the takeoff, the airplane “struck a very strong wake and felt the wing might have hit the wake” but he continued the takeoff. Once in flight, the pilot saw damage beneath the left wing and diverted to the airplane’s base at a nearby airport. A post-landing inspection revealed that the left wing sustained substantial damage. The “dockhand” said the pilot rushed him to his place in the right front seat in an effort to outrace the wake of a 600-passenger, high-speed ferry crossing their takeoff path. He took his seat and buckled his seat belt when the airplane was “already on the move,” and during the takeoff run, the airplane was “rocked around by the choppy water in the river and hit the wake of the [ferry].” The dockhand said he’d flown in the right seat with several different pilots from the same river location, and that “every one of them would wait for the wake to diminish before trying to launch.” ## Aircraft - Registration: [N143CA](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N143CA), registered now, S/N 208B5516, built 2019 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: TEXTRON AVIATION INC 208B - Registry model: [Textron 208B](https://openairdocs.org/model/textron-208b) (registry code 2073712) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-140) (registry code 51499, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 208B5516 - Year built: 2019 - Airframe hours: 902.5 - Engines: P&W CANADA PT6A-140 867 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, April 4, 2024, 148 hours before - Destination: JPX, East Hampton, NY - Airport: 6N7, New York Skyports Inc, runway N/S, 10,000 × 1,000 ft, water - Equipment: Electronic primary flight display, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic multifunction display ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 59; injuries: none; airline transport; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review December 10, 2023; seat: left; restraint: 5-point; flight hours: 10,000 total, 8,500 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 79 °F, dew point 45 °F - Altimeter: 30.43 inHg - Observed at: JRB, 3 nm away - METAR: KJRB 042056Z AUTO VRB06KT 10SM CLR 26/07 A3043 RMK AO2 PK WND 29033/2046 SLP304 6//// T02560072 58008 PNO $ ## 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 20240904013479A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240904013479A), Sep 4, 2024: Textron Aviation Inc 208B, Nyc East River, NY, Substantial damage. On September 4, 2024 at approximately 1700L (2100Z), CE208, amphibious aircraft, part 91, VFR, departed New York Skyports Inc seaplane base (67N) located in… ## Other investigations on N143CA (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 ERA21LA193](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA21LA193), Apr 26, 2021: Textron 208B (N143CA), Laceyville, PA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s improper decision to conduct a low altitude flight and his failure to see and avoid powerlines. Contributing was the operator’s lack of safety guidance or a safety policy for low-altitude… ## Docket (4 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 20, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=195077. 5.1 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 3.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18195810&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Printed%206120_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record a�� telephone interview, pilot (FAA) (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 191 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18196388&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=FAA%20Pilot%20Interview%20Summary_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Crewmember statement (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 44 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18196112&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N143CA%20accident%20report_Shawn%20L.%20Drew-Rel.pdf - Photo array (item 4, PDF, 5 pages, 1.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18196164&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Docket%20Photo%20Array-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.