Amateur-built SEA REY accident near Bell, Florida, September 6, 2025
On September 6, 2025 at about 4:52 pm local time, a 2005 amateur-built SEA REY, registered N2469J, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Bell, Florida. 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 raise the landing gear before landing on the water.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 2025 · about 4:52 pm local time
- Place
- Bell, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SEA REY, built 2005
- Registration
- N2469J · registry record · serial 1MK342C
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the amphibious airplane stated that he departed from a turf runway at his home airport but forgot to raise the landing gear. He planned a short flight to a nearby river where he would make a water landing, before returning to his home airport. While landing in the river, the extended landing gear contacted the water and the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the forward portion of the fuselage. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Nose over/nose down during landing
- Landing gear not configured during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Landing gear selector › Not used/operated
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 1,147 hours in all; 800 in this make and model; 12 in the last 90 days; 4 in the last 30 days; 1,147 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: September 19, 2023
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,040 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 11, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 1,350 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rotax 912ULS (piston); 1,040 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 37FL Bell FL
- Destination: Bell FL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 5,500 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 1:15 pm from CTY, 14 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KCTY 061715Z AUTO 09004KT 10SM FEW055 FEW070 33/24 A2998 RMK AO2
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 – Aircraft in River
Photograph 2 – Aircraft in River
Photograph 3 – Aircraft inverted in RiverThe 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
2 documents, released by the NTSB on December 4, 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 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Investigative Photos | 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.