- Date
- October 9, 2020, 11:54 local (18:54 UTC)
- Place
- Parker Dam, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N32RKRalph C Kimball Sea Rey
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Collision during takeoff/land
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Western Pacific Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20201009013219A
- Case key
- 102135
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 inadvertent encounter with water wake during the takeoff sequence that degraded the airplane’s airspeed and resulted in the pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from obstacles during the initial climb.
Findings · 5
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 of the amphibious airplane reported that, while taking off from a lake, unforeseen wakes that resulted in a decay the airplane’s airspeed. The pilot said that he was already committed to takeoff and initiated a climb at the airplane’s best rate of climb. While maneuvering to avoid obstructions, the left wing impacted a vehicle, and the airplane came to rest between two water tanks. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N32RK
- Reported as
- Ralph C Kimball Sea Rey
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1DK351C
- Built
- 2014
- Engine
- Rotax 912IS, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Destination
- KHII · Lake Havasu City, AZ
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- 45
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- August 23, 2020
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 15,000 total · 130 in this make and model · 5,000 as pilot in command · 180 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 28.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HII, 7 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 26, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.8 MB 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.