No fatalities

16 May 2015: CONSOLIDATED AERONAUTICS LAKE LA4-200 200 — Mineral, VA

Mineral, VA, United States

On 16 May 2015, a CONSOLIDATED AERONAUTICS LAKE LA4-200 200 was involved in an aviation accident near Mineral, VA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during a high-speed water taxi in rough water conditions, resulting in a collision with a dock. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

During high-speed taxi after a water landing, a pilot encountered a boat wake, causing the sponson to catch water and the aircraft to turn right, impacting a dock. No mechanical failures reported.

Incident Overview

A pilot reported that during a high-speed taxi phase following a water landing, the aircraft encountered the wake of a boat. According to the pilot, the sponson—a flotation device attached to the side of the aircraft—"caught the water" upon hitting the second wave. This caused the aircraft to make a right turn. The turning motion led to the airplane impacting a dock, resulting in substantial damage to the right wing and the fuselage.

Mechanical Status

The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation. The aircraft was operating as expected prior to the encounter with the boat wake.

Damage Assessment

The impact with the dock inflicted substantial damage to the right wing and fuselage. No further details regarding the extent of damage or repair requirements were provided in the report.

Contributing factors

PilotDirectional control — Not attained/maintainedEffect on operation