Unintended water landing

That's pretty cool having a water runway next to grass and paved. You have it all there. Looks like he left his gear down?
 
Thus why my insurance rates are sooo high for my 185 amphib.

Cool runway and ramp though
 
Must have made a last minute decision,on what runway to land on. Didn't work out well.
 
The water strip is adjacent to 17L. I wonder if this could be a taildragger that did a ground loop and wound up in the drink. I had a meeting tonight so I didn't have time to go snoop around.
 
DrPappy said:
The water strip is adjacent to 17L. I wonder if this could be a taildragger that did a ground loop and wound up in the drink. I had a meeting tonight so I didn't have time to go snoop around.
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No, the boat hull fuselage gives it away as a kit built amphib. I can't think of the model right now.
 
"Able to swim to safety"

Looks like he could just walk to safety about ten feet or so.
 
The gear doesn't work well ,on water landings.
 
Taking bets on how long before someone says "All fixed gear landings in water result in the plane flipping over on it's back."?
 
Shepherd said:
Taking bets on how long before someone says "All fixed gear landings in water result in the plane flipping over on it's back."?
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In a tail dragger they usually will, tricycles give you a much better chance because the primary drag is behind the CG. It's a matter of the geometry between the Center of Gravity and Center of Resistance, it's harder to trip a tricycle.
 
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I don't see any pontoons, looks like a 172. Lucky he's ok and doesn't have any diseases from that pond. I've pulled many seaplane out of that swath. I can't figure out why the hell he landed there, two parallel runways only a few hundred feet away and no way he would survive an east west entry. He had a fun ride if he skidded off 35r/17l. They need to demo that runway. Maybe a cabin fire extinguishing procedure, haha.
 
greddawn said:
I don't see any pontoons, looks like a 172. Lucky he's ok and doesn't have any diseases from that pond. I've pulled many seaplane out of that swath. I can't figure out why the hell he landed there, two parallel runways only a few hundred feet away and no way he would survive an east west entry. He had a fun ride if he skidded off 35r/17l. They need to demo that runway. Maybe a cabin fire extinguishing procedure, haha.
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Looks like an experimental of a flying boat design to me.
 
Ah, I think you are right, I should've looked at it on the computer and not just my mobile before commenting.
 
I heard of this one first-hand. My buddy who was holding short for takeoff on 17R saw the actual accident and had to sit on the ramp for about an hour waiting for the airport to "reopen to traffic". He reported the occupant being pulled out by rescuers and taken to a hospital by an ambulance.
Why they closed 17R for a localized accident on a parallel water runway is beyond me. But I do not claim to know anything about "safety" laws regarding airport operations.
 
BigBadLou said:
I heard of this one first-hand. My buddy who was holding short for takeoff on 17R saw the actual accident and had to sit on the ramp for about an hour waiting for the airport to "reopen to traffic". He reported the occupant being pulled out by rescuers and taken to a hospital by an ambulance.
Why they closed 17R for a localized accident on a parallel water runway is beyond me. But I do not claim to know anything about "safety" laws regarding airport operations.
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Did your friend give any details? I know nothing about water landings, but I would suppose if you hit the bank on splashdown, bad consequences might follow. Then again, the advantage of inverting into the drink is that no one will ever know how badly you pi**ed yourself.
 
DrPappy said:
Did your friend give any details?
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Negative. Just that it was a wheels-down water landing. The outcome is not surprising.
My friend was on a tight schedule, trying to get out of Hooks headed for Mexiko before the storms hit. Haven't heard from him since. He might be dead for all we know. Oh wait, wrong thread. :lol:
 
BigBadLou said:
I heard of this one first-hand. My buddy who was holding short for takeoff on 17R saw the actual accident and had to sit on the ramp for about an hour waiting for the airport to "reopen to traffic". He reported the occupant being pulled out by rescuers and taken to a hospital by an ambulance.
Why they closed 17R for a localized accident on a parallel water runway is beyond me. But I do not claim to know anything about "safety" laws regarding airport operations.
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Considering the number of emergency vehicles that likely don't know how airports work, closing 17R was maybe just the safe choice. 17L sure makes sense.
 
It wasn't an "unintended water landing." It was an intended water landing with unintended results.
 
I found this rather impressive.

Looks like some test on a SeaMax, landing on the water with the gear down, lots of splashes and nothing dramatic :yes:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dB4WgqLImDg


In comparison, here's a poor 185 accidentally landing gear down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObLQnY5fDU8


In a amphib run your checks, NEVER rush a landing, I run my pre landing flow then checklist, and say aloud landing on water gear UP, gear UP for water landing as I touch the lever, verify the blue light and confirm blocks back nose wheels up. Once I have my touch down sight profile I'll even do a quick GUMPS check.
 
James331 said:
I found this rather impressive.

Looks like some test on a SeaMax, landing on the water with the gear down, lots of splashes and nothing dramatic :yes:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dB4WgqLImDg


In comparison, here's a poor 185 accidentally landing gear down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObLQnY5fDU8


In a amphib run your checks, NEVER rush a landing, I run my pre landing flow then checklist, and say aloud landing on water gear UP, gear UP for water landing as I touch the lever, verify the blue light and confirm blocks back nose wheels up. Once I have my touch down sight profile I'll even do a quick GUMPS check.
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Yeah, the difference is twofold, first is the tripping arm between the CG and the water, then the vaulting arm between the CG and the (constantly shifting) center of buoyancy. Seaplane hulls have significant advantage in this aspect.

Where floats have advantage is where you have a likely hood of deadhead logs. You're much better off hitting one of those with floats than a boat hull.
 
I went to see Burt Rutan speak.

His latest amphibian has fixed gear and lands equally well on land or water.

Uses wheels from a skateboard.
 
Several years back our shop pulled a very nicely appointed 206 from a nearby lake. It was the second gear-down water landing the plane had made. Dad did the first one; son did the second.
 
Shepherd said:
Taking bets on how long before someone says "All fixed gear landings in water result in the plane flipping over on it's back."?
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That would be true for the great majority including a 180 on floats with the gear down of which there's a nice video. I remember, when young , a Grumman see bee flipped on the lake near my home gear down.
 
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