Consolidated Aeronautics LAKE LA-4-200 N1238L

Summary

On 21 August 2004 at about 18:45 local time, a Consolidated Aeronautics LAKE LA-4-200 registered N1238L, operated by Weldon Hord, was involved in an accident near Oroville, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 August 2004 at 18:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Oroville, California, United States

Coordinates

39.4636, -121.6786

Aircraft

Consolidated Aeronautics LAKE LA-4-200

Registration

N1238L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Weldon Hord

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oroville → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX04FA300

2 people died.

the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the water's surface, which resulted in his dragging of the right wing pontoon during low-altitude flight. The glassy-surfaced water was a contributing factor to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The amphibious airplane collided with the surface of a lake just after takeoff while flying low over the glassy-surfaced water. According to witnesses, the airplane was about 20 feet above the water and traveling about 70 miles per hour. Then, it "kissed" the surface, abruptly climbed up about 50 feet, turned to the left, and then descended into the water. Post-accident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies. The airplane was equipped with pontoons on each wing that were secured to the wings using two forward brackets and a smaller aft attachment. The left pontoon was torn from the wing and located in the floating debris field. The right wing pontoon's aft attachment secured it to the wing; however, the pontoon had rotated from its installation position approximately 270 degrees and was lying with its right side flush against the bottom surface of the wing. The pontoon attach brackets remained on the wing structure and were bent in an inboard direction. The damage to the airplane, and the right pontoon deformation, was consistent with the right pontoon impacting the water unevenly first, with the final impact consistent with a nose and left wing down attitude. The pilot had accumulated about 278 hours in seaplanes prior to the accident and had last landed the airplane on water about 3 months prior to the accident. The pilot's toxicology report was positive for ephedrine and pseudoephedrine which, would not have a negative effect on the pilot's performance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.