Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Eagle Point, Oregon 97524
Sunday, January 27, 2002 13:05 PST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that after takeoff from a private airstrip in the amphibian aircraft, he forgot to retract the landing gear before touching down on the river. The bow of the floats dug into the water and the aircraft nosed over. After the aircraft was recovered, it was noted that the nose wheels on the bow of the floats were broken off. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the aircraft at the time of the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot inadvertently failed to retract the landing gear for the water landing and the aircraft nosed over.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/27/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1305
Event Time Zone Pacific Standard Time
Event City Eagle Point
Event State OREGON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 97524
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 3
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11785
NTSB Notification Source FAA Regional Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Jan 27 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1338
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jun 3 2002 12:16PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Hillsboro, Oregon

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4379Z
NTSB Number SEA02LA032
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-18-150
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 18-8701
Certified Max Gross Weight 1750
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 7 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 109
Airframe Hours 3034
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gary S. Amidon
Aircraft Owner Street Address 552 Rogue Air Dr.
Aircraft Owner City Shady Cove
Aircraft Owner State OR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 97539
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Shady Cove
Departure State OR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone PST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Eagle Point
Destination State OR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 18 2002 5:22PM
User who most recently changed record STAM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --