- Date
- July 5, 2026, 12:01 local (16:01 UTC)
- Place
- New York, NY · River
- Injuries
- 8 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N726SHKodiak Kodiak 100
- Defining event
- Landing: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 27, 2026
- 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
- 20260705011459A
- Case key
- 203320
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
An inadvertent collision with a large wave during touchdown on a river, which resulted in a subsequent bounce and hard landing.
Findings · 1
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 reported that he performed a go-around during the first approach to the river seaplane base as the water did not look good (choppy). The water looked good during the second approach and the airplane touched down smooth, but the pilot did not see a large wave off the left side due to flat light, and the left float contacted the wave. The contact resulted in the airplane bouncing up into the air and contacting the water a second time, resulting in a hard landing and collapsed left float strut. The hard landing also resulted in substantial damage to the left elevator. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N726SH
- Reported as
- Kodiak Kodiak 100 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 100-0363
- Built
- 2025
- Airframe hours
- 78
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Acadian Seaplanes LLC
- Registered owner
- Gold Horizon LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- JPX · East Hampton, NY
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 6N7 · Evers Seaplane Base, runway N, 5,000 × 400 ft, water
- Equipment
- Angle of attack indicator, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Electronic primary flight display, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 27
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 19, 2026
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 3,474 total · 814 in this make and model · 3,173 as pilot in command · 145 in the last 90 days · 72 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 40
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Remote
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 30, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 1,468 total · 683 in this make and model · 882 as pilot in command · 147 in the last 90 days · 63 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,400 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.98 inHg
- Observed at
- LGA, 5 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KLGA 051551Z 06007KT 10SM FEW019 SCT026 BKN034 BKN150 BKN250 24/21 A2998
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 27, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.6 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.