Accident Progressive Aerodyne Searey N236JY,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 177853
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Thursday 16 July 2015
Time:18:51
Type:Silhouette image of generic SREY model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Progressive Aerodyne Searey
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N236JY
MSN: 1DK085
Year of manufacture:1997
Total airframe hrs:193 hours
Engine model:Rotax 912UL
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Holly Bay, Laurel River Lake, London, KY -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:London, KY (LOZ)
Destination airport:Lake Cumberland, KY
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The student pilot/owner stated that he intended on flying to a nearby lake to perform water landings and takeoffs in the amphibious airplane. The pilot reported that, during cruise flight, either the water/coolant or oil temperature reading indicated 235 degrees F, which he believed was above the normal reading. Due to a lack of suitable terrain between the airplane’s position at that time and the departure point, he chose to perform a precautionary landing on a nearby lake. The pilot reported that the landing was normal, but a witness reported seeing a large plume of water at touchdown engulf the airplane, which is not consistent with a normal landing. The pilot reported that, about 100 ft after touchdown on the water, the airplane’s hull hit a submerged object, which damaged it and allowed water to enter the airplane. Postrecovery examination of the flight controls and of the engine and its cooling system components revealed no evidence of a preimpact failure or malfunction.
Examination of the airplane revealed cracks in the hull above the left and right main landing gear and numerous stress fractures and outer fiberglass separations with no evidence of punctures or solidimpact signatures. Although the airplane’s attitude and configuration at impact could not be determined, the airplane damage was consistent with either touchdown in an excessively nosedown attitude or with the landing gear extended.
Although the previous owner reported that the airplane had previously experienced issues related to the cooling system, the issues were attributed to operating the engine with low or no coolant in the engine or expansion tank; postaccident examination of the coolant system revealed that there was sufficient coolant in the expansion tank and overflow bottle. Further, examination of the engine revealed that it had a sufficient oil level.

Probable Cause: The pilot’s improper conduct of a precautionary landing, which resulted in abnormal water contact that damaged the hull.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ERA15LA271
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=236JY

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
17-Jul-2015 06:56 gerard57 Added
17-Jul-2015 16:01 Geno Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Phase, Source, Damage]
18-Jul-2015 04:08 Geno Updated [Registration, Cn, Destination airport, Source]
21-Dec-2016 19:30 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
01-Dec-2017 15:03 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org