What happened
A fatal accident occurred during the landing phase of a flight involving an amphibian aircraft. While attempting to land on the surface of the water, the pilot executed the touchdown with the landing gear in the extended position rather than retracted into the floats. Upon contact with the water, the configuration of the gear caused the aircraft to lose stability, resulting in the plane flipping into an inverted position.
There was only one person on board at the time of the incident. The pilot sustained fatal injuries during the impact and subsequent inversion of the aircraft. No other occupants were present during the sequence of events.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary factor in the accident was the failure to properly configure the aircraft for a water landing. Specifically, the pilot failed to ensure that the landing gear on the amphibious floats had been retracted before making contact with the water.