Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Frankston, Texas 75763
Sunday, May 19, 2002 12:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of the amphibian airplane reported that as he touched down on the water, "a gust of wind caught the right wing and lifted it very quickly." The left wing sponson (float) then "caught the water," and the airplane "pulled" around resulting in damage to the engine support, wings, and fuselage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to adequately compensate for wind conditions while landing on the water which resulted in a water loop/swerve. A contributing factor was a wind gust.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/19/2002
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1230
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Frankston
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 75763
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 5
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 Unknown
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) 19
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.29
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) 17952
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date May 19 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1739
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 7 2005 10:33AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Dallas, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1298L
NTSB Number FTW02LA156
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 Lake
Aircraft Model LA4-200
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 761
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
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 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Raymond E. Burch
Aircraft Owner Street Address 651 County Road 1313
Aircraft Owner City Grand Saline
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75140
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Danny L. Dugan
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 11640 Tailspin Trail
Operator City Frankston
Operator State TX
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 75763
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code NONE
Departure City Frankston
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code NONE
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2005 3:03PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --