Franke Russell J SEAREY N92319

Summary

On 11 April 2013 at about 19:00 local time, a Franke Russell J SEAREY registered N92319 was involved in an accident near Polk City, 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

11 April 2013 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Polk City, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.1689, -81.8178

Aircraft

Franke Russell J SEAREY

Registration

N92319

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Polk City → Groveland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13LA198

Nobody was injured.

An inadvertent encounter with the water wake from a larger amphibious airplane before takeoff and the pilot's subsequent inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane during which he failed to note damage caused by the wake encounter.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he taxied the amphibious airplane down a boat ramp following a vintage twin-engine amphibious airplane that weighed more than 6,000 pounds. The other airplane took off, and the accident airplane then encountered a 2- to 3-foot water wake. The pilot "quartered" his airplane into the wake, and, subsequently, the right side pitched up, and the left side pitched down. The pilot then looked at the left horizontal stabilizer via a mirror on the airplane's left wing strut, conducted a full flight control check, and noted no anomalies. The pilot then began the takeoff, and the airplane bounced once along the choppy water surface before becoming airborne. Once airborne, the pilot noted pitch control problems and was not able to level the airplane until it reached about 1,800 feet. He was then able to descend the airplane at a rate of about 50 feet per minute by maintaining airspeed just above stall. The pilot circled the lake six times before being able to land. Upon landing, the right wing bounced twice, and, during the second bounce, the right horizontal stabilizer was substantially damaged when it dragged through the water. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a broken outboard left horizontal stabilizer tube that likely broke during the wake encounter. The examination also revealed that the bolt connecting three stabilizer cables had torn into the fabric, which likely resulted in the control stick binding in a pitch-up position upon rotation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.