The pilot of a lake amphibian struck the tow line between a parasail tow boat and the para-sailors c...

Narrative:

My friend--in his own lake amphibian--and I were at 500 MSL flying westbound. My plane was further away from the shore as I was planning a touch and go on the calm seas below us. My flight path was westbound outside a sandbar approximately 750 ft from shore with no boat traffic below or ahead of my aircraft.there was no boat or aircraft traffic ahead of my flight path as I descended to execute a water landing/touch and go; although I did observe a boat traveling in the opposite direction; parallel to my direction of flight further off the coast. The boat's position and direction indicated he would not be a factor in my approach for landing. I announced my altitude to the other pilots in the area.the boat suddenly turned in the direction of my approach path and crossed just in front of my aircraft. The boat's trajectory did not hinder my landing approach [so I continued with the approach]. My aircraft suddenly yawed hard to the left but I was at the time unaware of the cause. I began to lose power and heard someone say on the radio that my plane may have struck the towline of a parasail boat that turned in front of me. I heard on the radio the parasail occupants were at approximately 400 ft altitude. I never observed a parasail or a tow line in conflict with my flight path. (Note: the coast guard advised me after the incident the captain of the parasail boat had 800 ft of tow line deployed.)my engine was rapidly losing power and I began emergency procedures for a power off landing. I continued to fly the aircraft westbound losing altitude and speed. My friend advised I had oil on my cowling. I flew toward an unpopulated area on the beach; made a power off water landing and drifted to shore. While no one involved was injured; this incident had the potential to have catastrophic consequences. A governing authority needs to enforce the five mile restriction for parasails or kites operating near an airport. The runway 17 flight path is over the coast where the parasail operations are taking place which presents a serious danger for departing airplanes should an emergency landing be necessary. There should be height restrictions for parasail operations and the tow line should have clearly identifiable markings.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The pilot of a Lake Amphibian struck the tow line between a parasail tow boat and the para-sailors causing the aircraft to yaw abruptly and the engine to lose power. A safe landing was made near the shoreline and the aircraft drifted to shore. No injuries were reported.

Narrative: My friend--in his own Lake Amphibian--and I were at 500 MSL flying westbound. My plane was further away from the shore as I was planning a touch and go on the calm seas below us. My flight path was westbound outside a sandbar approximately 750 FT from shore with no boat traffic below or ahead of my aircraft.There was no boat or aircraft traffic ahead of my flight path as I descended to execute a water landing/touch and go; although I did observe a boat traveling in the opposite direction; parallel to my direction of flight further off the coast. The boat's position and direction indicated he would not be a factor in my approach for landing. I announced my altitude to the other pilots in the area.The boat suddenly turned in the direction of my approach path and crossed just in front of my aircraft. The boat's trajectory did not hinder my landing approach [so I continued with the approach]. My aircraft suddenly yawed hard to the left but I was at the time unaware of the cause. I began to lose power and heard someone say on the radio that my plane may have struck the towline of a parasail boat that turned in front of me. I heard on the radio the parasail occupants were at approximately 400 FT altitude. I never observed a parasail or a tow line in conflict with my flight path. (Note: The Coast Guard advised me after the incident the Captain of the parasail boat had 800 FT of tow line deployed.)My engine was rapidly losing power and I began emergency procedures for a power off landing. I continued to fly the aircraft westbound losing altitude and speed. My friend advised I had oil on my cowling. I flew toward an unpopulated area on the beach; made a power off water landing and drifted to shore. While no one involved was injured; this incident had the potential to have catastrophic consequences. A governing authority needs to enforce the five mile restriction for parasails or kites operating near an airport. The Runway 17 flight path is over the coast where the parasail operations are taking place which presents a serious danger for departing airplanes should an emergency landing be necessary. There should be height restrictions for parasail operations and the tow line should have clearly identifiable markings.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	963706
Time
Date	201108
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	JKA.Airport
State Reference	AL
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	LA-250 (Renegade/Seawolf)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Private Flight Crew Sea Flight Crew Instrument
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 2500 Flight Crew Type 100
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Inflight Event / Encounter Object

The pilot of a lake amphibian struck the tow line between a parasail tow boat and the para-sailors causing the aircraft to yaw abruptly and the engine to lose power. A safe landing was made near the shoreline and the aircraft drifted to shore. No injuries were reported.