ERA26LA176

As the amphibious airplane was approaching the destination airport, the engine lost oil pressure shortly before losing power completely. Unable to glide to the airport, the pilot elected to conduct a forced landing to a nearby bay. Due to the rough water conditions, the landing was hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and empennage. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that that the oil line that connected the oil pump housing to the oil cooler had separated from the oil cooler adapter at the barbed end of the B-nut assembly. The respective clamp, which was supposed to secure the oil line past the barbed fitting, was not recovered. It is possible that the clamp was not completely secured past the barbed fitting when the new, upgraded engine was installed onto the airplane about 1 year prior to the accident; however, the clamp could not be located after the accident, so the preseparation position and condition of the clamp could not be determined.

On April 15, 2026, about 1025 Atlantic standard time, an Icon A5 amphibious airplane, N558BA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Levittown, Puerto Rico. The student pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The student pilot, who was also the airplane owner, reported that he was nearing the destination airport on a cross-country flight and intended to land on an asphalt runway at Fernando Luis Robas Diminicci Airport (TJIG), San Juan, Puerto Rico. About 5 miles from TJIG, at an altitude of 1,000 ft mean sea level, and while approaching the Levittown water tank visual reporting point, the “Engine” and “Land Airplane” annunciator lights illuminated in the cockpit. The pilot checked the digital engine display and an “Oil PSI: 1” warning was flashing. Additionally, the analog oil temperature gauge provided no indication. The engine then lost oil pressure before it lost partial power, which the pilot reported to the TJIG air traffic control tower controller. The engine subsequently lost all power. Unable to glide the airplane to the airport, the pilot elected to conduct a forced landing to the bay. Due to the rough water conditions, the landing was hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing and empennage. After egress, the pilot observed oil spray on the empennage. A postaccident examination of the engine by an FAA inspector revealed that the oil line between the oil pump housing and the oil cooler had separated from the oil cooler adapter at the barbed end of the B-nut assembly (see figure). The respective clamp, which was supposed to secure the oil line past the barbed fitting, was not recovered. Figure - Barbed B-nut assembly with separated oil line indicated by red arrow. Review of maintenance records revealed that the airplane was manufactured in 2022 as a certified as a special light sport aircraft (S-LSA). At that time, it was equipped with a Rotax 912 iS 100-hp engine. In March 2025 a maintenance facility removed that engine and installed a Rotax 916 iS, 160-hp engine. To accomplish this without an FAA supplemental type certificate, the airplane was recertificated in the experimental light sport (E-LSA) category. The airplane subsequently underwent a condition inspection in September 2025, about 43 hours after the new engine was installed. No repairs or other maintenance were noted in the log entry documenting the inspection. The airplane had flown about 141 hours from the time of the new engine installation until the accident. According to the owner of the maintenance facility who performed the engine installation, he completed engine upgrades of about 10 other Icon airplanes, and as of the time of the accident, had not heard of any of those airplanes experiencing issues. He added that after the accident, he changed oil line fittings from push-lock type fittings to screw-on fittings.