What happened
A student pilot was conducting floatplane instruction maneuvers on a lake. Following several successful landings on the water, the flight instructor directed the pilot to perform a series of step taxis.
During one of these taxi maneuvers, the aircraft was being turned to the right when the pilot expressed concern regarding the completion of the turn. The instructor advised the pilot to apply more rudder. In response, the pilot applied full right rudder and increased power to maximum in an attempt to complete the maneuver. As the floatplane approached the shoreline, the instructor reduced power, at which point the left wing struck a tree. The aircraft then experienced an abrupt turn to the left and came to rest along the shoreline. There were no injuries reported.
Findings
The investigation focused on the maneuvers performed during the instructional flight and the sequence of pilot inputs leading to the contact with the tree.