A second fatal crash involving the Icon A5 Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) on Tuesday has marred the newly introduced amphibious adventure ai...
A second fatal crash involving the Icon A5 Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) on Tuesday has marred the newly introduced amphibious adventure aircraft.
Former American professional baseball player Roy Halladay was killed, Yesterday afternoon when his A5 went down in the Gulf of Mexico.
The incident happened less than a month after Halladay took delivery of the 2018 model A5 on 12 October. His A5 was found inverted in the shallow water, close to the Gulf of Mexico shoreline.
The fatal crash on May 8, 2017 killed lead designer of A5 aeronautical engineer Jon Karkow and a Icon employee Cagri Sever. A NTSB accident investigation report blamed the pilot for the crash.
The report concluded that the probable cause of the accident was “the pilot's failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering at a low altitude. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's mistaken entry into a canyon surrounded by steep rising terrain while at a low altitude for reasons that could not be determined.”
Following the May crash, Icon had introduced an improved low level flight training for the aircraft.
In April 2017, an Icon A5 was involved in a hard water landing incident in which no one was hurt.
The two seat amphibious LSA is capable of landing and taking off from waterways 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.
The crash proves, greater care has to be taken while flying the aircraft despite numerous safety features and ease to fly the aircraft.
