Pilot Did Not Retract Landing Gear Before Attempting A Water Landing

A pilot escaped uninjured Tuesday after landing his Searey airplane on Lake Hamilton in central Florida without first retracting the airplane's landing gear.

The Ledger newspaper reports that the pilot was 77-year-old Richard McGarity of Winter Park. According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, McGarity did not retract the landing gear of the 2001 Searey before attempting the landing on the lake. The plane reportedly tipped over and the cockpit began to take on water.

McGarity was examined by Polk County, FL medical staff and released at the scene.

The Daily Ridge newspaper reports that, according to a witness the plane hit the water "very hard," bounced back into the air, and then impacted the water a second time before starting to sink. A person operating a boat on the lake reportedly picked up the pilot, and only one wing of the plane was visible above the surface.

The lake is home to the Lake Hamilton Seaplane Base.

(File photo. Not accident aircraft)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov