Flight Details
The purpose of the flight was for a flight instructor to provide multiengine airplane training to his brother, a private pilot rated only for single-engine airplanes, in a late 1930s vintage amphibious airplane. No published performance data was available for the aircraft. According to the instructor, much of his knowledge about the airplane's performance came from previous flights.
Accident Sequence
Shortly after takeoff, at approximately 600 feet above ground level (AGL), as the pilot was retracting the landing gear and initiating a left turn to the crosswind leg of the traffic pattern, the flight instructor retarded the right throttle to simulate a failure of the right engine. The pilot executed the procedures for an in-flight engine failure. The instructor looked out the window to check for traffic in the airport traffic pattern. He then heard the pilot state, "I am at blue line but losing altitude." The instructor continued scanning for traffic and moved the right throttle forward to about the half-throttle position. The pilot could not recall if he had adjusted any power controls after the initial application of power for takeoff. The airplane continued to descend, impacted the ground, and caught fire.