N345BT – TOERNER BOB SEA REY – 2014-10-06 NTSB Accident Report

On October 06, 2014, a Toerner Bob SEA REY (N345BT) was involved in an incident near Tampa, FL. All 2 people aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: 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.

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.

This incident is documented in NTSB report ERA15CA010. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N345BT.