# NTSB GAA18CA388: Cessna A185, N14ED, Miami, FL, July 1, 2018 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 1, 2018, 11:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: Miami, FL - Coordinates: 25.778333, -80.17028 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.7783&lon=-80.1703&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor - Status: Completed, report March 18, 2019 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: General Aviation Accidents - Parties: FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 97654 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=GAA18CA388 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/97654/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=97654 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA18CA388 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to retract the wheels of the amphibious airplane on takeoff, which resulted in a nose-over when the airplane landed on water with the wheels extended. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to use appropriate checklists. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: configuration](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062017): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Incorrect use/operation (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna A185F, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062017/cases.md?model=2072821), [All aircraft, 80 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062017/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna A185F, 12 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=2072821), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of checklist](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna A185F, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030/cases.md?model=2072821), [All aircraft, 336 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063030/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Miscellaneous/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900); cases with it: [Cessna A185F, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md?model=2072821), [All aircraft, 1,556 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/900/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna A185F, 29 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=2072821), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis According to the pilot, he inadvertently failed to retract the wheels of the amphibious airplane after takeoff from a hard surface runway. Upon arrival at his destination, he did not use the Before Landing checklist, and when the airplane touched down on the water with the wheels extended, it nosed over. The amphibious airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut, the empennage, the right wing aileron, the rudder, and the elevator. The pilot asserted that the accident was pilot error and that the accident could have been prevented if he had he used the checklist. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the amphibious airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative According to the pilot, he inadvertently did not retract the wheels of the amphibious airplane after takeoff from a hard surface runway. Upon arrival at his destination, he did not use the before landing checklist and when the airplane touched down on the water with the wheels extended, it nosed over. The amphibious airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing lift strut, the empennage, the right wing aileron, the rudder, and the elevator. The pilot asserted that the accident was pilot error and that the accident could have been prevented had he used the checklist. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the amphibian airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N14ED](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N14ED-2020-09-04), registration cancelled 2020-09-04, S/N 18502107, built 1972 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna A185 (F) - Registry model: [Cessna A185F](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-a185f) (registry code 2072821) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental IO-520 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (registry code 17032, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 18502107 - Year built: 1972 - Airframe hours: 169.5 - Engines: Continental IO-520 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: Tropic Ocean Airways LLC - Registered owner: Conch Republic Aviation Llc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, June 1, 2018 - Departed: FLL, Fort Lauderdale, FL - Destination: X44, Miami, FL - Airport: X44, Miami - Equipment: Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 26; injuries: minor; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 25, 2018; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 756.2 total, 20 in this make and model, 289.5 as pilot in command, 128.6 in the last 90 days, 36.2 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 6,500 ft broken - Temperature: 88 °F, dew point 75 °F - Altimeter: 30.06 inHg - Observed at: KMIA, 8 nm away ## 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 20180701015809A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20180701015809A), Jul 1, 2018: Cessna A185F, Miami, FL, Destroyed. When: July 1, 2018 @ 15:30 EST Where: Cessna A185F, registration N14ED with the pilot being the sole occupant on board flying, took off from fort lauderdale… ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 14, 2018, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=97654. 1.9 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 1.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40469503&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF - Photos (item 2, .PDF, 340 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40469504&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photos-Master.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.