An ICON A5 light amphibious aircraft sunk after an hard amphibious landing, the first incident involving the type since maiden flight in 20...
An ICON A5 light amphibious aircraft sunk after an hard amphibious landing, the first incident involving the type since maiden flight in 2008.
The light sport aircraft (LSA) partially sank after its hull was damaged during the extremely hard landing on Saturday, April 1 in Miami, Florida.
Both the pilot and passenger were uninjured, ICON said in a statement. While the aircraft subsequently submerged up to the wings, it remained afloat and was towed approximately 8 miles to a marina where it was loaded onto an A5 trailer and transported back to the company.
ICON said the initial review indicate at pilot error.
The two seat LSA is capable of landing and taking off from waterways and is aimed at adventure seekers. It is powered by a single 100 hp Rotax piston engine in pusher configuration.
The high wing monoplane have carbon fiber made spin-resistant airframe and retractable landing gear housed in the Dornier style sponons that provide stability in water. The aircraft wing can be folded for road transport and storage.
ICON has reserved all of the twenty aircraft produced for training purposes as 40-30 percent of the customers are nonpilots.
Delivery schedule of the A5 has been delayed as ICON found its earlier plan to complete customer training only in 3 weeks unrealistic.
The aircraft is equipped with a Angle of Attack (AoA) indicator guage common in military jets, that considerably improve safety of flight, as it allow the pilot to avoid stall maneuvers.
Another flight safety feature is the ballistic recovery parachute system, that can lower the aircraft softly to the ground in case of a engine failure.
