Amateur-built SEAREY accident near Chippewa Lake, Ohio, September 14, 1998
On September 14, 1998 at about 10:30 pm local time, a amateur-built SEAREY, registered N219LJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chippewa Lake, Ohio. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Encounter with swells from a boat wake. A factor in the accident was the pilot's inadequate initial training.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 14, 1998 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Chippewa Lake, Ohio · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SEAREY
- Registration
- N219LJ · no longer on the register · serial 1DK014
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed on a smooth lake, and encountered a wake from the only boat that was operating at the time. The pilot increased power to get up 'on step,' and when the airplane hit the wake, it bounced up into the air about 3 feet. It came down into a second wake, the nose dug into the water and broke off, and the airplane flipped over. The pilot's seaplane transition training consisted of a checkout from his partner, and 8 to 10 water landings. He had 34 water landings at the time of the accident. Neither he nor his partner had a 'single-engine sea' airplane class rating. However, 14 CFR Part 61.31(k)(2) stated that rating limitations did not apply, even when carrying passengers, to '(iii) The holder of a pilot certificate when operating an aircraft under the authority of an experimental or provisional aircraft type certificate.' The pilot and his partner had planned on attending formal training during the upcoming winter.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 160 hours in all; 30 in this make and model; 33 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 105 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 200 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 1998; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,450 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3G3 Wadsworth OH at 9:45 pm
- Destination: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
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.