Strange Airplane and Unfamiliar Environment Leads to Tragedy

For an expert pilot, this new toy did not turn out to be child's play.

Peter Garrison

Monday, November 25, 2024 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: tccjeremy

He was flying along a river toward a low sun that blinded him to the wires in his path. [Getty Images]

Key Takeaways:

An experienced pilot and passenger died when their amphibious Super Petrel LS struck unmarked power lines during a low-level flight over Lake Hickory.
Despite the pilot's high total flight hours, he had very limited experience (8.4 hours) in the specific aircraft and appeared unfamiliar with the lake's hazards, including power lines not marked on standard charts.
The incident highlights that even seasoned pilots must exercise extreme vigilance and thorough preparation when operating new aircraft types or in unfamiliar environments, as experience in one area does not guarantee safety in another.

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Lake Hickory, created by a dam on the Catawba River in North Carolina, is long and sinuous, oriented broadly east-west. Near its western end is Hickory Regional Airport (KHKY).

On a clear August day in 2023, a pilot, 63, and a passenger, 41, himself a student pilot, took off from KHKY in a Scoda Super Petrel LS, a two-seat amphibious light sport biplane manufactured in Brazil. They flew 5 miles northeast to a point where a highway bridge crosses Lake Hickory. There they turned left over the lake, made a touch-and-go landing, and then continued westward at low level.