Textron Aviation INC 208B accident near New York, New York, September 4, 2024
On September 4, 2024 at about 9:00 pm local time, a 2019 Textron Aviation INC 208B, registered N143CA, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near New York, New York (New York Skyports INC airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper decision to rush his departure, which resulted in a rough water encounter and collision with the wake of a passing ferry boat.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 4, 2024 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- New York, New York · New York Skyports INC · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Textron Aviation INC 208B, built 2019
- Registration
- N143CA · registry record · serial 208B5516
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot explained that there was nothing wrong with the amphibious airplane as he completed his seven previous flights that day and began his eighth takeoff from a river. During the takeoff, the airplane “struck a very strong wake and felt the wing might have hit the wake” but he continued the takeoff. Once in flight, the pilot saw damage beneath the left wing and diverted to the airplane’s base at a nearby airport. A post-landing inspection revealed that the left wing sustained substantial damage. The “dockhand” said the pilot rushed him to his place in the right front seat in an effort to outrace the wake of a 600-passenger, high-speed ferry crossing their takeoff path. He took his seat and buckled his seat belt when the airplane was “already on the move,” and during the takeoff run, the airplane was “rocked around by the choppy water in the river and hit the wake of the [ferry].” The dockhand said he’d flown in the right seat with several different pilots from the same river location, and that “every one of them would wait for the wake to diminish before trying to launch.”
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
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 8,500 in this make and model
- Last flight review: December 10, 2023
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 902.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 4, 2024; 148 hours since
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W Canada PT6A-140 (turboprop); 902 hours total
The flight
- Destination: JPX East Hampton NY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway N/S, 10,000 ft by 1,000 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.43 inHg
- Observation at 4:56 pm from JRB, 3 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KJRB 042056Z AUTO VRB06KT 10SM CLR 26/07 A3043 RMK AO2 PK WND 29033/2046 SLP304 6//// T02560072 58008 PNO $
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 1 | |||
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on March 20, 2025. 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 | Memorandum for Record A�� Telephone Interview, Pilot (FAA) | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Crewmember Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Photo Array | PDF, 5 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N143CA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.