Iversen Glastar SH-4 — Kenai, AK

What happened

The pilot departed on a local personal flight in an amphibious, float-equipped experimental airplane with two passengers. About 40 minutes after takeoff, the burning wreckage of the airplane was spotted by overflying aircraft. The airplane was built by the pilot from a kit, and was designed by the kit manufacturer to have two side-by-side seats in the cockpit. A large cargo area was behind the two front seats. According to a neighbor, the accident airplane was equipped with a third seat, designed and built by the pilot. The third seat was installed in the cargo area and was designed to fold up for use, and was equipped with a seat belt. The only passenger access to the third seat would have been from the cockpit. The kit manufacturer indicated that several builders have designed and built a third seat in the cargo compartment area of their respective airplanes. These seats had been individually designed, as there were no after-market or third-party suppliers of rear seats for the airplane. No maintenance records or construction build records were located for the airplane. No weight and balance data for the airplane was located. According to the manufacturer, the airplane's gross weight was 2,100 pounds if equipped with floats. A calculation of the airplane's estimated weight done by the Safety Board's Investigator-In-Charge, came to an estimated 2,110 pounds without any inclusion of fuel, which indicated that the airplane was overgross at the time of the accident. The airplane appeared to have collided with the ground in a left-wing- and nose-low attitude, an indication of an aerodynamic stall. The airplane was destroyed by a postcrash fire. No preimpact mechanical malfunctions were found during an examination of the wreckage. An examination of data from a GPS receiver found at the crash site revealed that just prior to the accident the airplane was in a descending left turn, having lost 273 feet in the last 6 seconds before impact.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.