Grumman G-44A accident near Beaver Cove, Maine, September 6, 2025
On September 6, 2025 at about 1:20 pm local time, a 1946 Grumman G-44A, registered N402E, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering near Beaver Cove, Maine (Greenville Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s distraction and failure to monitor the airplane’s flight path, which resulted in controlled flight into a lake.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 2025 · about 1:20 pm local time
- Place
- Beaver Cove, Maine · Greenville Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Grumman G-44A, built 1946 · all G-44As on the register
- Registration
- N402E · no longer on the register · serial 1444
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After performing a flyby of nearby event, the pilot of the vintage amphibious airplane flew the airplane out over a lake near the seabase. While maneuvering, he attempted to contact people on the ground utilizing the common traffic advisory frequency he had heard people using earlier in the week. After failing to reach anyone, the pilot set the flight controls for a slow descent. Then he used his mobile phone to send a text message asking a friend for the radio frequency in use, and upon reply, changed the frequency. After setting the phone down, the pilot looked up as the airplane impacted the surface of the lake. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the front fuselage and hull, left wing, and both sponsons. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with 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
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during maneuvering defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Task monitoring/vigilance › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent rate › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,750 hours in all; 2,070 in this make and model; 44 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: December 12, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,298 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 30, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 5,500 lb
- Seats: 5
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming GO-435 (piston); 1,130 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming GO-435 (piston); 1,200 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3B1 Greenville ME at 1:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 9:56 am from GNR, 12 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KGNR 061356Z AUTO VRB04KT 19/16 A2997 RMK AO1 SLP147 T01890161
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
4 documents, released by the NTSB on December 18, 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, 8 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot's Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Memorandum for Record A�� Telephone Interview, Pilot | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 6 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ERA25LA341.