What happened
Following the completion of a Part 135 charter flight, the flightcrew had moored their aircraft in the Key West, Florida, harbor. Approximately one hour later, the crew reboarded the seaplane to perform a repositioning flight to an airport for refueling before returning to pick up passengers. During the takeoff sequence, witnesses observed the aircraft pitch upward, roll to the left, and subsequently crash nose-down into the harbor.
All two occupants of the aircraft, consisting of both pilots, were killed in the accident. Due to the impact and the subsequent effects of tidal movement and recovery efforts, the specific state of the aft bilge drain plugs could not be definitively determined.
Findings
An analysis of the cockpit voice recorder indicated that the crew did not verbally confirm the status of the bilge pumps during the pre-takeoff checklist. Following the initial lift-off, the pilots were recorded making remarks regarding the necessity of maintaining a nose-down attitude because of water accumulation in the rear section of the aircraft.