Toerner Bob SEA REY N345BT

Summary

On 6 October 2014 at about 14:30 local time, a Toerner Bob SEA REY registered N345BT, operated by Kerrigan Robert, was involved in an accident near Tampa, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 October 2014 at 14:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Tampa, Florida, United States

Coordinates

27.8842, -82.4183

Aircraft

Toerner Bob SEA REY

Registration

N345BT

Category

Airplane

Year built

2003

Engines

1

Operator

Kerrigan Robert

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tampa → Tampa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15CA010

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to retract the landing gear after takeoff, which resulted in the landing gear contacting the water while maneuvering at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that he was conducting a demonstration flight with a passenger onboard in the amphibious experimental amateur-built airplane. He reported that after takeoff, while explaining the operational characteristics of the airplane to his passenger, he forgot to raise the airplane's landing gear as was his custom. Later in the flight, while performing a low-altitude slow flight maneuver over water, the landing gear made contact with the water's surface. The airplane subsequently nosed over into the water and came to rest upright, resulting in substantial damage to the windscreen and front deck. The pilot reported no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures that could have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.