What happened
During a personal fishing trip, a commercial pilot was operating a float-equipped aircraft. Following takeoff from a remote river, the aircraft experienced a rapid pitch-up maneuver. The pilot reported that he was unable to lower the nose of the aircraft until power was reduced.
Immediately following the reduction in power, the aircraft pitched down steeply. Upon this descent, the pilot realized that a control lock had been left in the control wheel. After removing the device, the pilot managed to raise the nose of the float-equipped airplane just before it struck the water. The impact resulted in collapsed floats and damage to both the wings and the fuselage. The pilot was not injured.
The investigation
The investigation revealed that the pilot was using a friend's aircraft and did not have his own checklist available, instead relying on memory for his procedures. It was noted that the owner of the aircraft utilized a non-standard control wheel lock consisting of a screwdriver with its shaft placed in the hole of the control wheel column.