- Date
- July 31, 1987, 19:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Westport, NY
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N14037Lake LA-4-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870731040319A
- Case key
- 30702
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
Drg the takeoff run on a lake, the amphibian enctrd rough water & became airborne prematurely. The acft then settled onto the water in a slightly nose high attitude & touched down in front of a large wave. The acft's nose crashed head-on into the wave which almost brought the plane to a complete stop. Within seconds, the nose sank & the acft became inverted. The occupants exited thru a window that had come out drg impact. The acft contd to float, although the cabin area was completely submerged.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N14037
- Reported as
- Lake LA-4-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 39
- Airframe hours
- 107
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Thomas G. Tuxill
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 29, 1986
- Airport
- Lake Champlain
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 381 total · 98 in this make and model · 297 as pilot in command · 28 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 10 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
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 N14037 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.