Icon Aircraft INC A5 accident near Key Largo, Florida, April 1, 2017
On April 1, 2017 at about 5:15 pm local time, a 2016 Icon Aircraft INC A5, registered N672BA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Key Largo, Florida. It was a business 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain a proper descent rate during the approach, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 1, 2017 · about 5:15 pm local time
- Place
- Key Largo, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Icon Aircraft INC A5 NO SERIES, built 2016 · all A5s on the register
- Registration
- N672BA · no longer on the register · serial 00010
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the amphibious airplane reported that, during a no-flap water landing, he noticed a higher descent rate than expected. He added that he applied full power to initiate a go-around but that the airplane landed hard on the water. The pilot and passenger egressed the airplane and were rescued without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he believed the airplane encountered "a windshift/shear to a tailwind as [he] transitioned high to low for landing approach toward the [south-southwest]." A review of recorded data from the automated weather observation station located about 6 miles west of the accident site reported that, about 17 minutes before the accident, the wind was from 090° at 9 knots.
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
- Hard landing during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Descent/approach/glide path › Not attained/maintained
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Delayed action › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Tailwind › Effect on operation
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,545 hours in all; 175 in this make and model; 166 in the last 90 days; 73 in the last 30 days; 4,370 as pilot in command; 2,450 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 8, 2017
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 129 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, January 19, 2017
- Maximum gross weight: 1,510 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rotax 912 iS Sport (piston); 129 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 07FA Key Largo FL at 5:00 pm
- Destination: 07FA Key Largo FL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 77°F (25°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 4:58 pm from KHST, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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 GAA17CA213.