- Date
- March 4, 2013, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bellevue, WA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N226SEWeston SEA-ERA
- Defining event
- Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Dragged wing/rotor/float/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 24, 2013
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- FAA SEA-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20130304002279A
- Case key
- 86372
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 control during takeoff on choppy water conditions.
Findings · 3
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 reported that, during takeoff from a lake, the airplane started to bounce from wave to wave, and it eventually porpoised. When the pilot reduced power to abort the takeoff, the left wingtip ski struck a wave, and the airplane yawed to the left. The right wing then struck the water, and the airplane abruptly stopped. The fuselage and wing spars were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that the wind on the lake at the time of the accident was about 18 knots and that the waves were about 12 to 15 inches high. The pilot reported that the highest waves he had previously encountered in this airplane were 10 to 12 inches high. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that during takeoff from a lake, the airplane started to bounce from wave to wave and eventually developed into a porpoise. As power was reduced to abort the takeoff, the left wing tip ski struck a wave and the airplane yawed to the left. The right wing then struck the water and the airplane came to an abrupt stop. The fuselage and wing spars were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that the wind on the lake at the time of the accident was about 18 knots and the waves were about 12-15 inches high. The pilot reported that prior to this; the largest waves the airplane has encountered were 10-12 inches high. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N226SE
- Reported as
- Weston SEA-ERA
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 001
- Airframe hours
- 86
- Engine
- Jabiru 2200, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Weston Paul H
- Registered owner
- Weston Paul H
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental light sport (Special)
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · June 10, 2012 · 21 hours before
- Departed
- Bellevue, WA
- Destination
- Bellevue, WA
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
- 86
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Sport Pilot
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Sport pilot
- Last flight review
- April 8, 2011
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 135 total · 33 in this make and model · 64 as pilot in command · 1 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- RNT, 8 nm away
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 19, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 841 KB 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.
Other investigations on N226SE · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.