Young John E SEAREY N236JY

Summary

On 16 July 2015 at about 22:51 local time, a Young John E SEAREY registered N236JY, operated by LeRoy Moore, Jr., was involved in an accident near Corbin, Kentucky, United States. One person was 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

16 July 2015 at 22:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Corbin, Kentucky, United States

Coordinates

36.9758, -84.2517

Aircraft

Young John E SEAREY

Registration

N236JY

Category

Airplane

Year built

1997

Operator

LeRoy Moore, Jr.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

London → Lake Cumberland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA15LA271

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s improper conduct of a precautionary landing, which resulted in abnormal water contact that damaged the hull.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot/owner stated that he intended on flying to a nearby lake to perform water landings and takeoffs in the amphibious airplane. The pilot reported that, during cruise flight, either the water/coolant or oil temperature reading indicated 235 degrees F, which he believed was above the normal reading. Due to a lack of suitable terrain between the airplane's position at that time and the departure point, he chose to perform a precautionary landing on a nearby lake. The pilot reported that the landing was normal, but a witness reported seeing a large plume of water at touchdown engulf the airplane, which is not consistent with a normal landing. The pilot reported that, about 100 ft after touchdown on the water, the airplane's hull hit a submerged object, which damaged it and allowed water to enter the airplane. Postrecovery examination of the flight controls and of the engine and its cooling system components revealed no evidence of a preimpact failure or malfunction. Examination of the airplane revealed cracks in the hull above the left and right main landing gear and numerous stress fractures and outer fiberglass separations with no evidence of punctures or solid-impact signatures. Although the airplane's attitude and configuration at impact could not be determined, the airplane damage was consistent with either touchdown in an excessively nose-down attitude or with the landing gear extended. Although the previous owner reported that the airplane had previously experienced issues related to the cooling system, the issues were attributed to operating the engine with low or no coolant in the engine or expansion tank; postaccident examination of the coolant system revealed that there was sufficient coolant in the expansion tank and overflow bottle. Further, examination of the engine revealed that it had a sufficient oil level.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.