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WPR12CA151

2012-04-01 · Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

N32LB has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (SILVERLIGHT AVIATION APOLLO AG1, built 2024), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot did not maintain directional control during a water touchdown.

Factual narrative

The pilot stated that he was performing a water landing and believes the left sponson contacted the water about the same time as the hull. The airplane water-looped, bending both sponsons and the left wing tip. Additionally, the left side of the airplane’s nose and left fuselage at the pilot entry station were wrinkled and bent. The pilot stated that he was performing a water landing in a cove with gusty wind conditions. The airplane touched down twice and, on the third touchdown, veered violently to the left. He believed that he either “chined and waterlooped” or that the left sponson contacted the water first. Both sponsons and the left wing tip were substantially damaged. Additionally, the left side of the airplane’s nose and left fuselage at the pilot entry station were wrinkled and bent. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C
  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2012_WPR12CA151.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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