Amateur-built QUICK SILVER SP II accident near Mobile, Alabama, August 16, 2024
On August 16, 2024 at about 12:30 pm local time, a 1995 amateur-built QUICK SILVER SP II, registered N2342D, was substantially damaged in an accident during approach near Mobile, Alabama. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane in gusty wind conditions while flying low over water, which resulted in the floats impacting a wave and the airplane’s subsequent nose over into the water.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 16, 2024 · about 12:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mobile, Alabama · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built QUICK SILVER SP II, built 1995
- Registration
- N2342D · registry record · serial 0511
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the conclusion of the sightseeing and bird watching flight, the pilot reported he was flying low in preparation for a water landing in gusty wind conditions. While flying about 6 ft over the water surface, a wind gust subsided, and the airplane sank and began to stall. The front of the floats then impacted a small wave, resulting in the airplane nosing over into the water. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the right wing. The pilot reported there were no preimpact anomalies or mechanical failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during approach defining event
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during approach
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Variable wind › Response/compensation
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine sea; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,200 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 2,200 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Passenger
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 312 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 15, 2024; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 770 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 503 (piston); 45 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Mobile AL at 12:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 080° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,500 ft; scat at 2,300 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 77°F (25°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 am from BFM, 5 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KBFM 161253Z 08006KT 10SM SCT023 BKN095 29/25 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP176 T02940250=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 3 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
. Photograph 1 – Airplane in the Mobile Bay
Photograph 2 – Airplane during recovery
Photograph 3 – Airplane during recoveryThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on December 19, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Mor - Pilot Interview Summary | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Mor - Pilot's Clarification of 6120 Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 4 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.