What happened
The pilot was operating a floatplane, moving it from an anchorage area toward passenger docks. During the approach for landing, conditions included a quartering tailwind. The aircraft touched down with excessive force. This hard impact caused the airplane to water loop, a maneuver where the nose rises sharply and the aircraft rotates over its longitudinal axis while on the water surface.
As a result of the violent motion during the water loop and the initial hard landing, the right float detached from the airframe. The airplane then settled into the water and nosed over, leading to submersion. The incident resulted in damage to the right wing of the aircraft.
The investigation
Examination of the event focused on the sequence of events during the landing phase. The pilot reported that the hard landing was followed by an inadvertent water loop. The separation of the right float occurred during this dynamic event. The subsequent nosing over and submersion caused structural damage to the right wing.
Findings
The primary factors contributing to the accident were the hard landing and the subsequent water loop. These events led directly to the loss of buoyancy on one side and the final submersion of the aircraft.