Waterford, MI, USA
N28DR
Piper J3C
The float plane's takeoff roll seemed longer than normal to the pilot. After he lifted off, he noticed a shimmy even though the aircraft was out of the water. He decided to abort the takeoff because he "still had plenty of water left to land on" ahead of him. The airplane touched down with the left float first. When the right float touched down, the airplane yawed hard to the right and water looped. Water conditions at the time of the accident were reported by the pilot as calm. An examination of the wreckage revealed no pre-impact anomalies.
The airplane was substantially damaged during an aborted takeoff from a lake. The pilot stated, "The airplane seemed to have an abnormally long takeoff roll. It just did not seem right. I tried to adjust the pitch of the airplane to find the 'sweet spot' on the step. Slight nose up did not help and relaxing back pressure did not help either. I then decided to raise the right float out of the water to reduce drag. The airplane lifted off the water what appeared to be normal at first. But while I was accelerating and slowly climbing I felt a slight shimmying even though we were now off the water. I decided to abort the takeoff because I still had plenty of water left to land on ahead of me. ...We appeared to touch down on the left float first. Once the right float contacted the water the plane immediately yawed hard to the right and the airplane rolled fast to the left and spun." Water conditions at the time of the accident were reported by the pilot as calm. An examination of the wreckage revealed no pre-impact anomalies.
The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane, causing a water loop. A factor in the accident was the water loop encountered.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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