- Date
- April 3, 1999, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Boca Grande, FL
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N10430Maule M-7-235B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990403002959A
- Case key
- 46032
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 pilots failure to maintain a visual lookout on landing resulting in an in-flight collision with a wave.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated he was making a landing to smooth water. The left float collided with a wave. The airplane rotated to the left about 30 degrees, and the right wing tip collided with the water.
Factual narrative
On April 3, 1999, about 1200 eastern standard time, a Maule M-7-235B seaplane, N10430, crashed on landing at Boca Grande, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The seaplane sustained substantial damage. The commercial pilot reported no injuries. The private pilot passenger reported serious injuries. The flight originated from Captiva Island, Florida, about 10 minutes before the accident.
The pilot stated he was making a landing to smooth water. The left float collided with a big wave when flying parallel to the water. The airplane rotated to the left about 30 degrees, the right wing tip touched the water, which turned the airplane into the original direction.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N10430
- Reported as
- Maule M-7-235B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 23051C
- Airframe hours
- 135
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-J3A5, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Ulrich H. Gerstner
- Registered owner
- Sanibel Seaplane Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 25, 1999 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- N/A · Captiva Island, FL
- Destination
- N/A
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
- 54
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,845 total · 42 in this make and model · 1,381 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 18 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SRQ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N10430 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.