Quest Kodiak 100 near Naples, ME — 2010-08-08

Final reportERA10LA408

Date: 2010-08-08
Location: Naples, ME, USA
Airport: 5ME
Aircraft: Quest Kodiak 100
Registration: N917CM
Category: Airplane
Highest injury: None
Fatalities: 0
Phase of flight: Landing

Probable cause

A loss of control during landing for undetermined reasons.

NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot (ATP) was landing at his home lake. After discussing the boat traffic and wind with the commercial pilot, the pilots elected to conduct a crosswind landing in an open area away from the boats. The ATP configured the airplane for a normal water landing and stated that the right float contacted the water first, followed by the left float. The airplane then veered to the left and the ATP applied rudder and aileron to correct. The airplane rolled onto the right float and came to rest inverted. Both pilots reported that the water conditions were rough due to boat traffic. A postaccident examination revealed that both left and right forward float struts were separated at their attachment fittings. Examination of the fittings revealed that they exhibited signatures consistent with ductile overstress, indicating that they likely failed during the accident sequence.