• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
General Aviation News

General Aviation News

Because flying is cool

  • Pictures of the Day
    • Submit Picture of the Day
  • Stories
    • News
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Products
    • NTSB Accidents
    • ASRS Reports
  • Comments
  • Classifieds
    • Place Classified Ad
  • Events
  • Digital Archives
  • Subscribe
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Pilot and mechanic share blame for accident

By NTSB · January 6, 2023 ·

The pilot was performing a repositioning flight following the completion of an annual inspection.

After departing from a runway in his amphibious Aviat A-1, he observed a large, open area on a lake near Terrell, North Carolina, and decided to perform a touch-and-go landing.

Upon touchdown, the airplane flipped over and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. Due to his injuries, the pilot had no recollection of the accident.

An FAA inspector reported that, during wreckage recovery from the lake, all four landing gear wheels were in the extended positions, and the landing gear handle was in the “Down Land” position.

He also noted that the pitot tube was covered in black electrical tape, blocking airflow through the tube.

A pitot/static discrepancy was found during the annual inspection and the repair was deferred.

The airplane was equipped with a backup landing gear position advisory system that would provide an audible message confirming the position of the gear prior to landing. However, the audible component would not work properly if the pitot tube was obstructed.

Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to retract the landing gear on the amphibious airplane prior to a water landing, resulting in a nose over and structural damage to the airframe. The mechanic’s failure to remove electrical tape from the pitot tube, the pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, and the pilot’s failure to visually confirm the landing gear position prior to touchdown were all factors in the accident.

NTSB Identification: 102560

To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.

This January 2021 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.

About NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in the other modes of transportation, including railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. It determines the probable causes of accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences.

Reader Interactions

Share this story

  • Share on Twitter Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email Share via Email

Join 110,000 readers each month and get the latest news and entertainment from the world of general aviation direct to your inbox, daily. Sign up here.

Curious to know what fellow pilots think on random stories on the General Aviation News website? Click on our Recent Comments page to find out. Read our Comment Policy here.

Comments

  1. Kelly Carnighan says

    January 6, 2023 at 6:17 pm

    How sad. This accident was totally avoidable. Glad to hear the pilot was not seriously injured. I own an amphibious Piper Super Cruiser. I have lots of retract time. So, taking off on hard surface is no different than taking off in any retractable aircraft. It’s positive rate, runway remaining, and gear up. When landing on water the checklist calls for confirming gear are up for water landing. First look at the gear up lights, then confirm by looking at the position of the gear via the tab on top of the floats for the main gear and checking to see the tow bar attach points are visible when the bow gear are in the up position. it’s that simple. One can make flying as safe as they want to make it.

    • Thomas Ibach says

      January 9, 2023 at 3:21 am

      Electrical tape on the pitot tube? Not a flagged cover????
      Sloppy

      • scott k patterson says

        January 9, 2023 at 8:43 am

        Probably was testing for vacuum leaks. Pilot should have noticed no airspeed indication and had heightened awareness.

    • Gary Merrill says

      January 9, 2023 at 9:24 am

      Visual inspection 101!! Tape on the pitot tube… airspeed anyone?

© 2025 Flyer Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Writer’s Guidelines
  • Photographer’s Guidelines