What happened
A mission to deploy weather buoys in the Atlantic Ocean resulted in the loss of an aircraft near the coast of North Carolina. The flight originated from the Elizabeth City CGAS in North Carolina, with the crew performing several successful landings prior to the incident.
During the takeoff phase, the seaplane collided with an unidentified object floating on the surface of the water. The impact caused the aircraft to come to a halt approximately 680 km east of Cape Hatteras. Following the collision, the five crew members managed to exit the cabin and evacuate the sinking vessel. The crew was subsequently located and rescued by the personnel aboard a container ship. The aircraft subsequently submerged and remains lost.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the impact with an unknown floating object during the takeoff sequence.