Event MIA98LA014

Factual narrative

On October 29, 1997, about 1809 eastern standard time, an Aerofab Lake L-250, N85HG, registered to Elissar Technologies Inc., operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, lost power and made a forced landing in water near Miami, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged. The private-pilot and one passenger were not injured. The flight originated from Fort Lauderdale, Florida about 1715. The pilot stated that his engine was running rough and losing power. He elected to make a forced landing in the water about 3 miles south of the shoreline. After the airplane touched down in the water, the pilot said he began water taxiing towards land. He further said that "because darkness was not far off, I also step-taxied toward land so as to get there sooner...although due to insufficient power and fading light I discontinued this step taxi...at some point during the taxi one wing began riding lower and lower than the other until the wing was wet. This made taxi slower." Eventually he reached land, where he moored the airplane. It was the pilot's belief that the time was about 1900. In addition, the pilot noted that the left break away sponson-pontoon broke away, and the airplane also sustained damage from the dock. The pilot had the airplane towed to a maintenance facility were the engine was examined. There was no determination made on the reason the engine lost power. The pilot's completed NTSB Form 6120.1/2, was received at the Miami Field Office, January 21, 1998. The pilot stated that his engine was running rough and losing power. He made a forced landing in water about 3 miles south of the shoreline. The pilot said that after the airplane touched down in the water, he began water taxing towards land. He further said that because darkness was near, he step-taxied toward land to arrive sooner. Due to insufficient power and fading light, he discontinued the step taxi. At some point during the taxi, one wing began riding lower than the other until the wing was wet, and the taxi speed became slower. Eventually, he reached land, where he moored the airplane. The pilot noted that the left break away sponson-pontoon broke away, and the airplane also sustained damage from the dock. The pilot had the airplane towed to a maintenance facility were the engine was examined. No reason was found for the loss of engine power. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12