- Date
- August 13, 2002, 10:52 local (14:52 UTC)
- Place
- Foxboro, MA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N7072XNiemann Champion II
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 17, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO-01
- FAA report
- 20020813020459A
- Case key
- 55490
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 failure to maintain aircraft control during the landing flare.
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 reported that he was attempting to land the floatplane on a lake. About 1 foot above the water, a light gust of wind lifted the left wing. The pilot did not correct for the wind, and the right float contacted the water. The floatplane subsequently flipped over and sank. The reported wind speed, at an airport approximately 10 miles away, was 4 knots.
Factual narrative
On August 13, 2002, about 1052 eastern daylight time, an amateur built Champion II floatplane, N7072X, was substantially damaged while landing on Mirimichi Lake, Foxboro, Massachusetts. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot stated that he departed Middleboro, Massachusetts, about 1000. About 1052, he was attempting to land on Mirimichi Lake with a headwind. When the floatplane was approximately 1 foot above the water, a light gust of wind lifted the left wing. The pilot did not to correct for the wind, and the right float contacted the water. The floatplane subsequently flipped over and sank. The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical malfunctions with the floatplane.
Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed damage to the floats, wings, and fuselage.
The reported wind at an airport approximately 10 miles north of the accident site, at 1053, was from 190 degrees at 4 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7072X
- Reported as
- Niemann Champion II
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- CH-2-0592-B-0849
- Airframe hours
- 128
- Engine
- Rotax 503DCDI, 52 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- John M. Arsenaut
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 15, 2002 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Middleboro, MA
- Destination
- NONE · Foxboro, MA
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 58
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- April 9, 2002
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 424 total · 3 in this make and model · 341 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- OWD, 10 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.