<< >> NASA ASRS Report 370848, June 1997

C172 seaplane, on floats, chkout given to a non current rated pilot for water operation qualification. Simulated heavy weight takeoff using reduced power. Instructor pilot takes over to get aircraft into the air and barely misses the trees and houses in his flight path.

Attributes
ACN	370848
Time
Date	199706
Day	Fri
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : 34mn
State Reference	MN
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 500
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	climbout : initial climbout : takeoff
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	instruction : instructor oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : atp pilot : cfi
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 100 flight time total : 15000 flight time type : 300
ASRS Report	376848
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot instruction : trainee
Qualification	pilot : private
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : undershoot conflict : ground critical non adherence : far non adherence other other spatial deviation other spatial deviation
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : exited adverse environment flight crew : took evasive action
Consequence	Other
Miss Distance	horizontal : 0 vertical : 50
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

I was giving a springtime seaplane chkout to a rated pilot for currency and to blow off his cobwebs after a long winter. I picked a long stretch of water to simulate a heavy or high density takeoff by using less than full power for takeoff, and we initiated the takeoff run. The trainee showed a lot of cobwebs and could not get the seaplane airborne. After traveling over 1 mi across the water, still struggling to get off, a boat on the port side moving toward us caught my eye. I looked over the nose and realized we were approaching a shallow area followed by the shoreline with tall trees and a few houses. I took the controls, got the seaplane off the water, and had to apply full power to barely clear the trees and houses. In the future, I'll spend a lot more time outside the cockpit instead of just inside looking for cobwebs to dust off.

Related reports:

• Instructor pilot qualification - not tailwheel endorsed.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 SEAPLANE, ON FLOATS, CHKOUT GIVEN TO A NON CURRENT RATED PLT FOR WATER OP QUALIFICATION. SIMULATED HVY WT TKOF USING REDUCED PWR. INSTRUCTOR PLT TAKES OVER TO GET ACFT INTO THE AIR AND BARELY MISSES THE TREES AND HOUSES IN HIS FLT PATH.

Narrative: I WAS GIVING A SPRINGTIME SEAPLANE CHKOUT TO A RATED PLT FOR CURRENCY AND TO BLOW OFF HIS COBWEBS AFTER A LONG WINTER. I PICKED A LONG STRETCH OF WATER TO SIMULATE A HVY OR HIGH DENSITY TKOF BY USING LESS THAN FULL PWR FOR TKOF, AND WE INITIATED THE TKOF RUN. THE TRAINEE SHOWED A LOT OF COBWEBS AND COULD NOT GET THE SEAPLANE AIRBORNE. AFTER TRAVELING OVER 1 MI ACROSS THE WATER, STILL STRUGGLING TO GET OFF, A BOAT ON THE PORT SIDE MOVING TOWARD US CAUGHT MY EYE. I LOOKED OVER THE NOSE AND REALIZED WE WERE APCHING A SHALLOW AREA FOLLOWED BY THE SHORELINE WITH TALL TREES AND A FEW HOUSES. I TOOK THE CTLS, GOT THE SEAPLANE OFF THE WATER, AND HAD TO APPLY FULL PWR TO BARELY CLR THE TREES AND HOUSES. IN THE FUTURE, I'LL SPEND A LOT MORE TIME OUTSIDE THE COCKPIT INSTEAD OF JUST INSIDE LOOKING FOR COBWEBS TO DUST OFF.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 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.