Accident Overview
On January 2, 2019, at about 1130 Pacific standard time, an experimental Progressive Aerodyne Searey amphibious airplane, registration N24YD, was substantially damaged during a water landing on the American River near Sacramento, California. The private pilot received minor injuries, and the passenger succumbed to injuries sustained in the accident 14 days later. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Pilot Report
According to a telephone conversation with the pilot, he had departed from Napa County Airport (APC) in Napa, California, at about 1050 with the intention of landing on the American River. After takeoff, he became distracted when he heard another airplane taking off in his direction and subsequently forgot to retract the landing gear. Upon arrival at the river, he performed a normal approach and extended the flaps to 20 degrees. He verbally announced that the landing gear was retracted, but he did not visually confirm its position. Just before touchdown, the pilot realized the landing gear had not been retracted, and the airplane touched down on the water with the gear extended. The airplane nosed down and became partially submerged. The pilot reported difficulty egressing and was unable to exit until after the airplane partially sank. He then extracted the passenger from the airplane.