NTSB CAROL · Event
Event WPR24LA303
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot’s improper flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the amphibious airplane reported that during the approach to a lake over glassy water, he misjudged the height of the airplane above the water’s surface. He reported that he “had no sense of depth perception” and the airplane impacted the water when he thought it was about 10 ft above the surface. The pilot chose to set the airplane on the water surface to avoid departing with possible damage. However, the airplane handed hard and the float struts collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Landing flare-Not attained/maintained
- — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
- — Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
- — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Wheel/ski/float-Capability exceeded
- — Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-(general)-(general)-Effect on personnel
- — Personnel issues-Psychological-Perception/orientation/illusion-Visual illusion/disorientation-Pilot
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2024_WPR24LA303.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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