# NTSB ERA25LA335: Lafferty Jack SEA REY, N2469J, Bell, FL, September 6, 2025 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: September 6, 2025, 12:52 local (16:52 UTC) - Place: Bell, FL - Coordinates: 29.794986, -82.920069 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.7950&lon=-82.9201&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Landing gear not configured](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/095) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 4, 2025 - 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): 200971 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA25LA335 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200971/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200971 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA335 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to raise the landing gear before landing on the water. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Landing gear system: landing gear selector](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023234): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Not used/operated (probable cause); cases with it: [Lafferty Jack SEA REY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023234/cases.md?model=05619UY), [All aircraft, 54 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01023234/cases.md) - [Action: forgotten action/omission](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Lafferty Jack SEA REY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035/cases.md?model=05619UY), [All aircraft, 440 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041035/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Landing gear not configured](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/095) (defining event); cases with it: [Lafferty Jack SEA REY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/095/sequence.md?model=05619UY), [All aircraft, 584 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/095/sequence.md) - [Landing: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Lafferty Jack SEA REY, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=05619UY), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot of the amphibious airplane stated that he departed from a turf runway at his home airport but forgot to raise the landing gear. He planned a short flight to a nearby river where he would make a water landing, before returning to his home airport. While landing in the river, the extended landing gear contacted the water and the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the forward portion of the fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2469J](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2469J), registered now, S/N 1MK342C, built 2005 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: LAFFERTY JACK SEA REY - Registry model: [Lafferty Jack SEA REY](https://openairdocs.org/model/lafferty-jack-sea-rey) (registry code 05619UY) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Rotax SEE BOMBADIER](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-see-bombadier) (registry code 55555, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 1MK342C - Year built: 2005 - Airframe hours: 1040 - Engines: Rotax 912ULS 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, March 11, 2025 - Departed: 37FL, Bell, FL - Destination: Bell, FL - Equipment: ADS-B ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 71; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea; medical: sport pilot; last flight review September 19, 2023; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 1,147 total, 800 in this make and model, 1,147 as pilot in command, 12 in the last 90 days, 4 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 90° at 4 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 91 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 29.98 inHg - Observed at: CTY, 14 nm away - METAR: KCTY 061715Z AUTO 09004KT 10SM FEW055 FEW070 33/24 A2998 RMK AO2 ## 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 20250906021589A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250906021589A), Sep 6, 2025: Lafferty Jack SEAREY, Bell, FL, Substantial damage. An accident on September 6, 2025, on a short flight from flying harness farms 37FL to land on the suwannee river, a Searey amphibious aircraft landed on the… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 4, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=200971. 32.4 MB in all. - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 30.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19285892&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N2469J%20_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photos (item 2, PDF, 4 pages, 1.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=19280535&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Investigative%20Photos-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.