- Date
- June 10, 2018, 14:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Renton, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N352AMAviat A 1
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 5, 2018
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20180610015449A
- Case key
- 97451
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 inadequate crosswind correction, which resulted in the right wing impacting the water’s surface.
Findings · 5
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 float-equipped airplane reported that, during takeoff from a tower-controlled waterway in gusting crosswind conditions, he felt the wind direction shift as the airplane started to lift off. He added that a strong wind gust then lifted the left wing, and the right wing dipped and impacted the water. He reduced power and shut the engine off. The impact had damaged the float connecting rod. The airplane came to rest upright on both floats, but the left float then separated from the fuselage, and the airplane sank. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing lift strut. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system about 1 nautical mile from the accident site reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 170° at 7 knots with thunderstorms in the vicinity. According to the pilot, the tower had reported the possibility of gusts up to 20 knots. The pilot was departing the waterway to the east/southeast.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the float-equipped airplane reported that, during takeoff on a tower controlled waterway in gusting crosswind conditions, he felt the wind direction shift as the airplane started to lift off. He added that a strong gust of wind then lifted the left wing, and the right wing dipped and impacted the water. He reduced power and shut the engine off. The impact had damaged the float connecting rod. The airplane came to rest upright on both floats, but the left float then separated from the fuselage, and the airplane sank. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing lift strut. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The automated weather observation system about 1 nautical mile from the accident site reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 170° at 7 knots with thunderstorms in the vicinity. According to the pilot, the tower had reported the possibility of gusts up to 20 knots. The pilot was departing the waterway to the east/southeast.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N352AM
- Reported as
- Aviat A 1 (B)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2252
- Built
- 2003
- Airframe hours
- 1,120
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360 SERIES, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- W36 · Renton, WA
- Destination
- Victoria
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- W36 · Will Rogers Wiley Post Memoria, runway 12, 5,000 × 200 ft, water
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Electronic primary flight display, Handheld GPS, Satellite tracking 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
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 77
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 3, 2017
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 3,103 total · 1,088 in this make and model · 9 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 9,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Turbulence
- Moderate
- Observed at
- KRNT, 1 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 10, 2018, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.1 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.