20 Dec 2008: Steven G Goonen Searey

20 Dec 2008: Steven G Goonen Searey — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Polkland, FL, United States

Probable cause

A loss of control during the initial climb for undetermined reasons.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

According to the pilot, he taxied out, verified the amphibian airplane was configured properly, and completed all checklists. The airplane departed normally from the lake, in a southwest direction, while climbing through about 50 feet above ground level, and approaching a tree line surrounding the lake, the airplane began an uncommanded roll to the right. He then utilized full aileron and rudder authority however was unable to control the roll. The airplane continued to roll until it impacted the water. The pilot had approximately 220 hours of flight experience in the accident airplane. Post accident examination of the airplane by an inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration revealed no pre-accident mechanical problems, the wings and fuselage exhibited signs of impact damage, and flight control continuity was confirmed on all surfaces. Weather observations in the vicinity of the accident site reported winds out of the west and southwest at 10 knots or less. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunction prior to the accident.

Contributing factors

  • Performance/control parameters — Not attained/maintained

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 250/03kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.