Narrative:

I would like to pass along an incident which hopefully can serve as a reminder to all seaplane pilots of the important role that an extra moment of water taxiing can play. As a captain with a commuter seaplane operation, I've experience many rough water situations during the critical moments of takeoff and landing. On a recent weekend, I had executed a landing in a rough, boat-filled waterway. The plane came to a bobbing rest abeam from our ramping area. Adding power to the port engine to initiate wind compensation I called for gear down. Wave swells, however, were an added factor in the inertia of the aircraft. The result was a surge toward our ramp as we conducted our visibility and cockpit gear indication checks. The problem was contacting solid ground prior to full nosegear extension. The conclusion: scraped nosegear doors and a 2 week unpaid vacation. From the easy prospective of hindsight, I know the real problem was not being satisfied with rocking in the heavy waters. I can only say that this experience taught me that the extra moment taken, even being uncomfortable, is still preferable to the hasty execution of one's checklist.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: COMMUTER SMT HIT SEAPLANE RAMP BEFORE GEAR WAS EXTENDED DAMAGING NOSE GEAR DOORS.

Narrative: I WOULD LIKE TO PASS ALONG AN INCIDENT WHICH HOPEFULLY CAN SERVE AS A REMINDER TO ALL SEAPLANE PLTS OF THE IMPORTANT ROLE THAT AN EXTRA MOMENT OF WATER TAXIING CAN PLAY. AS A CAPT WITH A COMMUTER SEAPLANE OPERATION, I'VE EXPERIENCE MANY ROUGH WATER SITUATIONS DURING THE CRITICAL MOMENTS OF TKOF AND LNDG. ON A RECENT WEEKEND, I HAD EXECUTED A LNDG IN A ROUGH, BOAT-FILLED WATERWAY. THE PLANE CAME TO A BOBBING REST ABEAM FROM OUR RAMPING AREA. ADDING PWR TO THE PORT ENG TO INITIATE WIND COMPENSATION I CALLED FOR GEAR DOWN. WAVE SWELLS, HOWEVER, WERE AN ADDED FACTOR IN THE INERTIA OF THE ACFT. THE RESULT WAS A SURGE TOWARD OUR RAMP AS WE CONDUCTED OUR VIS AND COCKPIT GEAR INDICATION CHKS. THE PROB WAS CONTACTING SOLID GND PRIOR TO FULL NOSEGEAR EXTENSION. THE CONCLUSION: SCRAPED NOSEGEAR DOORS AND A 2 WK UNPAID VACATION. FROM THE EASY PROSPECTIVE OF HINDSIGHT, I KNOW THE REAL PROB WAS NOT BEING SATISFIED WITH ROCKING IN THE HEAVY WATERS. I CAN ONLY SAY THAT THIS EXPERIENCE TAUGHT ME THAT THE EXTRA MOMENT TAKEN, EVEN BEING UNCOMFORTABLE, IS STILL PREFERABLE TO THE HASTY EXECUTION OF ONE'S CHKLIST.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of August 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.