Accident Overview
A commercial pilot, familiar with the type of accident airplane but flying a friend's float-equipped airplane for a personal fishing trip, did not have his own checklist available. He reported using only a memory-based checklist, and it was the first flight of the morning. After takeoff from a remote river, the airplane pitched up rapidly. The pilot was unable to lower the nose until he reduced power, at which point the airplane pitched down steeply. He then realized that he had left the control lock installed in the control wheel. He removed the control lock and was able to raise the nose, but the airplane struck the water, collapsing the floats and damaging the wings and fuselage.
Control Lock Details
The pilot stated that the airplane owner used a non-standard control wheel lock. The lock consisted of a screwdriver, with the shaft of the screwdriver placed in the hole of the control wheel column.
Sequence of Events
- The pilot, familiar with the aircraft type but not this specific airplane, did not have his own checklist and relied on memory.
- Takeoff was from a remote river on the first flight of the day.
- Shortly after takeoff, the airplane pitched up abruptly.
- Power reduction allowed the nose to lower, but then a steep pitch-down occurred.
- The pilot identified and removed the control lock (a screwdriver) from the control wheel column.
- Despite raising the nose, the airplane impacted the water, resulting in collapsed floats and structural damage to the wings and fuselage.
No further details were provided about the pilot's qualifications, the exact location, or the extent of damages beyond the float collapse and wing/fuselage damage.