Skip to content

WPR14CA093

2014-01-10 · Lake Havasu, Arizona, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport HII

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilots' failure to verify the landing gear position prior to the water landing and the pilot/examiner's failure to adequately monitor the pilot.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that following an uneventful takeoff in the amphibious float equipped airplane, he intended on performing a water landing at a nearby lake as part of his checkride. During the water landing, the airplane immediately nosed over which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot stated that he had become distracted after takeoff and did not retract the landing gear for the water landing. The designated pilot examiner onboard the airplane, reported that he did not confirm the position of the landing gear prior to the water landing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that following an uneventful takeoff in the amphibious float equipped airplane, he intended on performing a water landing at a nearby lake as part of his checkride. During the water landing, the airplane immediately nosed over which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The pilot stated that he had become distracted after takeoff and did not retract the landing gear for the water landing. The designated pilot examiner onboard the airplane, reported that he did not confirm the position of the landing gear prior to the water landing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Lack of action-Pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring equip/instruments-Pilot - C
  • C Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring other person-Designated examiner - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-(general)-Not used/operated - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_WPR14CA093.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.