The crew was engaged in a scooping mission on the Donzère-Mondragon Canal located near Pierrelatte. While taking off, the nose gear door opened due to a technical failure. Water entered the gear bay and control was lost. The seaplane veered to the right then struck the bank before coming to rest partially submerged. Both pilots were uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause (official findings): Failure of the torque tube on the nose gear caused the unexpected opening of the nose gear door while taking off.