No fatalities

Aircraft Water Landing Incident Involves Sponson and Wing Damage

Lake Havasu City, AZ, United States

On April 1, 2012, a LAKE LA-4-200 operated by Sheble Aviation was involved in an aviation accident near Lake Havasu City, AZ. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot did not maintain directional control during a water touchdown. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 13 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

During a water landing, an aircraft water-looped after the left sponson contacted the water near the hull, causing damage to both sponsons, the left wing tip, and the left fuselage.

Incident Description and Damage Assessment An aircraft experienced a water-looping event during a water landing, resulting in structural damage to multiple components. According to the pilot's account, the left sponson made contact with the water surface at approximately the same time as the main hull. This simultaneous contact triggered the water-looping incident, which led to significant deformation of the aircraft's structure. The investigation noted that both sponsons were bent as a direct result of the event. Additionally, the left wing tip sustained bending damage. Further inspection revealed that the left side of the aircraft's nose was wrinkled and bent. The left fuselage area at the pilot entry station also exhibited similar wrinkling and bending, indicating the extent of the impact forces during the water landing.

Contributing factors

Directional control — Not attained/maintainedPilot