Amphibious firefighting aircraft capsizes during water landing in Valencia (EC-IVM)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On Friday, 24 June 2005, at 18:00 local time, an Air Tractor AT-802A amphibian aircraft with registration EC-IVM, operated by Avialsa T-35, S. L., suffered a serious accident at the Bellús-Játiva reservoir in Valencia, Spain. The aircraft, powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-AG67 engine, was engaged in commercial firefighting operations. The pilot in command, a 53-year-old Spanish national holding a commercial pilot license, had a total of 7,378:46 flight hours, including 66:25 hours on the aircraft type. The flight began at 10:45 UTC with a visual departure from Valencia Airport, arriving at Enguera Aerodrome at 11:15. At 16:05, the aircraft took off again from Enguera, loaded with water, which it discharged over a fire. It then proceeded to the Bellús reservoir to refill. During the water landing approach, the aircraft made contact with the water and experienced a rapid, progressive deceleration before capsizing and coming to rest inverted. The pilot exited the aircraft independently, breaking a window with an oxygen bottle and swimming to the surface without injury. ## Aircraft Damage and Configuration The aircraft sustained significant damage, particularly to the propeller and engine mount. The left wing and float supports were heavily deformed, and the vertical tail and airframe were also damaged. Post-recovery inspection confirmed that the landing gear was extended and the control lever was in the 'down' position. No mechanical failure of the gear deployment system was found. The AT-802A amphibian is a modified version of the Air Tractor 802, equipped with floats for water landings and a retractable four-wheel landing gear for land operations. The gear system uses two electrically driven hydraulic pumps and four independent actuators. Position is indicated by four blue lights (gear up for water) or four green lights (gear down for land). An additional 'Amphibian Landing Gear Position Advisory System' provides audio warnings, including 'GEAR IS DOWN FOR RUNWAY LANDING' when the gear is extended. ## Pilot Account and Contributing Factors The pilot stated that after loading water at Enguera, he may have forgotten to retract the landing gear. Upon arriving at the reservoir, he observed the four green gear lights and heard the audio advisory, but did not react in time to prevent the water landing with the gear extended. The pilot reported that the initial water contact was soft and that he remained calm, which allowed him to escape safely. The investigation noted that this was the first aircraft in the operator's fleet with retractable gear, and the pilot had been involved in a similar incident with the same aircraft on 21 June 2004, when it landed at Valencia Airport with the gear folded. The report suggests that the repetitive nature of the audio warnings, combined with the English language of the messages and the pilot's high workload during the maneuver, may have contributed to the delayed reaction. The pilot's prior experience with a similar incident and the novelty of the retractable gear system in the fleet were also noted as relevant factors.