Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey LSA, N403SR: Accident occurred September 07, 2019 in Guntersville, Marshall County, Alabama

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Alabama and NW Florida

Aircraft crashed into Guntersville Lake.

https://registry.faa.gov/N403SR

Date: 07-SEP-19
Time: 17:00:00Z
Regis#: N403SR
Aircraft Make: PROGRESSIVE AERODYNE
Aircraft Model: SEAREY
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
Operation: 91
City: GUNTERSVILLE LAKE
State: ALABAMA




"Well, I knew he was in trouble when he flipped over and hit the water," said Leon Duncan, who helped the pilot of the plane.

You're hearing from the man who helped save a pilot after his plane crashed into Lake Guntersville.

This is what's left of his plane...

Not much physical damage, but a lot of water damage.

WAAY-31 was there when emergency crews pulled the plane out of the water.

Many people who were here at Little Mountain Marina told us they've never seen anything like this.

We spoke with the man who helped get the pilot out and he says he's just happy to have been in the right place at the right time.

"He's dead. I figured he got hurt bad," said Leon Duncan.

This was Duncan's first thought when he saw the plane fall out the sky...

He was just a few miles away when he saw it crash into the water.

"I seen this plane coming and he hit the water, turned a flip. Took me about 10 minutes to get to where he was at and he was still under water," he said.

Duncan immediately got the pilot to safety and tied the plane to his pontoon boat.

Two hours later, they made it to the marina and the Alabama Marine police officers were there.

So was a crane standing by to fish the plane out of the lake.

The owner of the plane didn't want to go on camera but told WAAY-31 he is blessed to be alive...

Duncan along with others agree...

They said if things were just a hair different, they think he might have died.

"He was blessed... He was blessed," said Duncan.

Many people who saw Duncan help the pilot are calling him a hero, But Leon Duncan says he was just doing what was right.

"I'm not no hero. I was just in the right place at the right time," he said.

The owner of the plane told WAAY-31 what happened was his own error.

Alabama Marine Police and the Federal Aviation Association will be investigating.

Story and video ➤ https://www.waaytv.com


GUNTERSVILLE, Alabama (WAFF) - A small plane crashed into Lake Guntersville Saturday afternoon. The pilot, a retired Huntsville physician and only person on board, was not hurt.

The pilot was attempting to land a Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey LSA in the lake. He had his landing gear configured for a geared landing at an airport; meaning the landing gear was extended. When he entered the water he extended the gear causing the plane to do a 180 degree flip. The plane came to a rest belly side up. ALEA Marine Patrol tells us there was no malfunction. They are ruling this as pilot error.

Crews removed the plane from the water following the crash. We’re told it was a total loss.

We’re told the Federal Aviation Administration will be back out on Tuesday to complete their investigation.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.waff.com



GUNTERSVILLE, Alabama — A small plane crashed into Lake Guntersville Saturday afternoon.

The pilot, a retired Huntsville physician and the only person on board the Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey LSA, was attempting to land on the lake. The pilot said the skids malfunctioned and caused the aircraft to flip upside down upon hitting the water.

The pilot managed to escape unharmed before the plane became completely submerged.

According to ALEA Marine Patrol, there was no malfunction and the crash appears to be a result of pilot error.

Crews were able to recover the plane and it was towed to a dock at nearby Little Mountain Marina.

The Federal Aviation Administration will be back at the scene Tuesday to complete an investigation and make a final determination of the cause of the crash.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.wvtm13.com





Good Samaritan Leon Duncan

GUNTERSVILLE, Alabama - Alabama Marine Patrol recovered a small plane that crashed into Lake Guntersville Saturday afternoon.

Authorities said the crash happened about two miles away from the Little Mountain Marina and a pontoon boat saw the plane crash land and towed it back to the boat dock.

The Marshall County Sheriff's office told WHNT News 19 the pilot was attempting to land in the water and the aircraft's skids malfunctioned.

Authorities said the pilot was the only one on board and they were not injured.

Officials said the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the crash.

Story and video ➤ https://whnt.com

3 comments:

  1. Skids didn't malfunction, pilot screwed up and lowered the landing gear for a water landing. A gear up landing would have been the right call here. Could have been fatal in not for the help of the good samaritan.

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  2. Good thing that 'bama hayseed was there in his pontoon boat to seen the plane coming! Hoo-boy, what if he hadn't of been there to have sawed it? Pilot probly would've done drownded!

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  3. Good save, brother! That doctor has probably saved a few lives in his day, and now he gets the favor returned.

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