N2440S

On May 31, 2023, at 1530 eastern daylight time, an experimental, amateur-built SeaRey amphibious airplane, N2440S, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Sherrills Ford, North Carolina. The pilot and the passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot, who was also the owner of the airplane, provided a written statement and was later interviewed by telephone. He said that he departed Lake Norman Airpark (14A), Mooresville, North Carolina, which was his home airport, and flew about 3 minutes across the lake to Long Island Airpark (NC26). Before the flight, he performed a preflight inspection and engine run-up with no anomalies noted, and the flight was uneventful.

According to the pilot, he and the passenger visited with a friend at NC26 before boarding the airplane for a flight to Statesville Regional Airport (SVH), Statesville, North Carolina. He stated that the airplane was airborne within the first 1/4 of the 3,000-ft-long turf runway, but had only climbed to 100 ft above ground level at the departure end, which abutted Lake Catawba. The pilot said he “immediately” performed a sharp left turn to assume his enroute heading because “there was no need to maintain runway heading once clear of obstacles.”

The pilot reported that, about halfway through the turn, the engine exhibited a sudden loss of power, but continued running with excessive vibration. Remedial actions to restore power were unsuccessful. The pilot stated that he selected a forced landing spot on the lake and moved the landing gear selector to the “up” position with “about 25 ft of altitude nearing 50 mph of airspeed.” Photographs taken by a witness showed that the airplane contacted the water with the landing gear extended. The pilot stated that the airplane pitched forward upon water contact and came to rest upright and afloat in the water with substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing strut.

After recovery of the airplane, the pilot started the engine for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident site. The engine started and ran before it “choked out” and stopped operating. This sequence was repeated multiple times.

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land. He did not possess a rating for airplane single-engine sea. His most recent FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on May 15, 2022, at which time the pilot declared 361 total hours of flight experience, 36 hours of which were in the accident airplane.

According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1998 and was powered by a Rotax 914, 115-horsepower engine. The pilot purchased the airplane in February 2023. The airplane’s most recent condition inspection was completed February 6, 2023, at 724 total aircraft hours.

The pilot explained that he had experienced an engine power loss on February 18, 2023, and enlisted the help of other local SeaRey owners to diagnose the issue. He explained in detail their inspection of the airplane’s fuel system as they understood it. When asked if any licensed airframe and powerplant mechanics were part of the assembled troubleshooters, he said no. According to the pilot, he “deemed them to be qualified SeaRey mechanics” due to their histories with SeaRey airplanes and Rotax engines.

After their draining and inspection of the fuel system revealed no anomalies, the consensus among the group was that the engine stoppage was likely due to an unported fuel tank, as there was only 4.5 gallons of fuel on board at the time of the power loss.

Following the accident, the airplane was inspected by an FAA aviation safety inspector and a representative of the engine manufacturer. A gascolator mounted in the root of the wing was removed and found occluded by rusted particles, water, and traces of fuel (see Figure 1). A “witness hole” below the gascolator provided access to the drain, but it was not placarded, and the pilot/owner stated that he had not known of it before the inspection.

Figure 1. – View of gascolator with rusted particles, water, and trace amounts of fuel as found (source FAA).

Once the gascolator was cleared and the engine was ready for a test run, the owner declined, fearing further damage to the airplane, as the engine was loose in its mounts.

According to the pilot, “Given all of the facts and my knowledge of engine fundamentals and performance, my best guess at this point would be the gascolator could have caused loss of power in both referenced flights.”

According to the SeaRey Pilot Operation Handbook, Normal Land Takeoff: