Accident
A Cessna 172P floatplane conducting training flights nosed over during a crosswind landing. The aircraft had completed several takeoffs and landings in a 9-knot southerly wind before executing a westbound crosswind approach and landing.
Approach and Landing
The student pilot lowered 30 degrees of flaps and established a standard descent attitude and airspeed of 65 knots. Upon touchdown, the aircraft made "strong" contact with the water on the upwind float, pitched nose down, and then nosed over. The instructor reported that there were no hazardous water conditions, no whitecaps, and no deep swells at the time.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
The operator's training manual for the Cessna 172P floatplane specifies that during a crosswind landing, the final approach speed should be 65 knots with 20 degrees of flaps. The instructor had a total of 224 hours in the Cessna 172 model, with slightly more than 6 hours logged as instructor time (all in the Cessna 172). His flight instructor certificate was issued two months prior to the accident.
Weather
Winds at Boeing Field, located six nautical miles south of the accident site, were reported as 160 degrees magnetic at four knots.