- Date
- April 13, 2025, 18:40 local (23:40 UTC)
- Place
- Elmore, AL
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N744RARobb Aventura II
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Landing gear not configured
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 6, 2025
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20250413003899A
- Case key
- 200046
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 configure the airplane for a water landing.
Findings · 2
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 amphibious airplane departed on a personal flight and performed several water landings on a lake. Upon leaving the area of the lake for the return flight to the departure airport, he lowered the landing gear (deviating from his standard procedure of lowering the landing gear while in the airport traffic pattern). Upon reaching the airport, and realizing there was still daylight remaining, he elected to perform one more water landing on a nearby river. Approaching the river, he lowered the flaps but neglected to verify the correct position of the landing gear and touched down on water with the landing gear extended. After touchdown the airplane nosed down and came to an abrupt stop resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot stated that there was no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures or of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N744RA
- Reported as
- Robb Aventura II (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- AA2A0122
- Built
- 2005
- Airframe hours
- 234
- Engine
- Rotax 912ULS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Condition · February 26, 2025 · 16 hours before
- Departed
- 08A · Wetumpka, AL
- Airport
- NA
- Equipment
- Airframe parachute
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
- 56
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 14, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 739 total · 113 in this make and model · 657 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.05 inHg
- Observed at
- KMXF, 7 nm away
- METAR
- KMXF 132355Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 21/06 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP178 T02120059 10241 20206 55005 FZRANO $
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on November 6, 2025, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.0 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.