The pilot of the amphibious float-equipped Cessna 185 reported that during the initial climb from an airport runway, he was distracted by other airport traffic and forgot to retract the landing gear.
As he approached his destination, which was a lake near Emily, Minnesota, he did not perform the before landing checklist as he usually does, and failed to notice that the landing gear was still down.
The pilot reported that his touchdown was smooth, but the airplane immediately nosed over and he felt “a fire hose of water” come through the windscreen.
After the airplane came to rest, he was submerged underwater, but was able to remain calm and slip out the pilot side window.
The fuselage sustained substantial damage.
Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to retract the landing gear, which resulted in a gear down water landing and a nose over.
NTSB Identification: GAA15CA222
This August 2015 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
The 185’s an Air Taxi Service I worked for in Alaska had amphib’s, and we had mirrors mounted under the wing tips to see if your gear was up or down. In just doing your scan you could see in an instant wear your gear is…
Head up and locked because he preferred the view from that perspective!
Two lapses, takeoff and landing. The excuses are laughable. Distracted and gosh didn’t do a landing checklist.
He was VERY lucky. Failure to retract the wheels for water landings is a major cause of fatalities in float plane accidents. I wouldn’t say anything about this was “laughable”. But for the grace of God go I (and likely you too). This pilot’s misfortune is an opportunity for us to resolve to use the check lists, overcome distractions, stay focused, and be prepared for a problem. AOPA has a very good video of an experienced, conscientious pilot who let down his guard for just a moment, and his young son was the price. These accidents happen to good, very capable people. We (me, you, other pilots) should learn from them rather than point fingers.
These accidents are published to teach all of us what to avoid.
Short of unforseen mechanical failure most of the time these things happen because pilots FAIL to pay attention (become lazy and indifferent or lack experience) or worse, stop using checklists.
When a pilot tries to excuse irresponsible behavior like losing focus or not using checklists then it become laughable. There is no excuse for failing to pilot an aircraft properly…..None.