Monday, August 19, 2013

Cessna A185F Skywagon, N185SB: Accident occurred August 17, 2013 on Canandaigua Lake, New York

Aircraft on takeoff from Canandaigua Lake, flipped over


 
 Cessna A185F Skywagon That Flipped During Takeoff Pulled From Canandaigua Lake




http://registry.faa.gov/N185SB

http://rochester.ynn.com


It's not something you see every day on Canandaigua Lake, though lifting a seaplane out of the watery depths is something Jeremy Fields has done before.
 
"We've recovered about three seaplanes now. There has been other cases where we've done this, but not quite as exciting as this one was."

Fields got the call Saturday morning after pilot Joseph Bell of Canandaigua flipped his 1980 Cessna Model 185 during takeoff.

"It was about halfway up the lake."

Authorities say Bell was able to get out of the cockpit and into the water. He wasn't hurt.

"Actually he was very calm. As a pilot you gotta remain that way, and he did a great job."

Authorities say several Canandaigua Lake neighbors saw the crash, and were able to get Bell, by boat, safely to shore.

Fields' construction company used a barge and a crane to save the plane.

"So what we have to do is mobilize the barge, some way to crane it, because we're trying to save the plane, obviously."

Once the aircraft was brought safely to shore, investigators with the FAA began their work, trying to determine the cause of the crash.

The Cessna will eventually be disassembled, then taken to the Canandaigua Airport for repairs.

Fields says all things considered, it could have been a whole lot worse.

"Yeah, he did a very good job, did everything right and knew what he was doing."