What happened
On 30 July 2025, at 0741 local time, an Australian-registered amphibious Air Tractor AT‑802, configured for firefighting and with 2 crew members on board, departed from Thessaloniki Airport Makedonia, Greece. The aircraft, along with 2 other company aircraft, was headed to a fire located about 40 km north of the airport. At about 20 km south of the fire location, all 3 aircraft commenced water scooping operations at Lake Koroneia.
The amphibious aircraft was designed to scoop water by lowering a retractable intake hole underneath the aircraft while skimming the surface of a body of water at high speed, using the forward motion to force water into the onboard tanks. Prior to scooping operations, pilots will conduct a visual inspection of the proposed scooping area to look for obstacles both on top of and submerged in the water.
The pilot conducted a water inspection and recalled that the water appeared murky and was difficult to see through. During water uplift, the crew of the aircraft reported hearing an impact and immediately initiated a climb to gain height.
The 2 accompanying aircraft flew alongside the Air Tractor to conduct a visual inspection and reported that the right float had dislodged from its mounts. All 3 aircraft made the decision to return to Thessaloniki Airport, with the pilot of the Air Tractor notifying air traffic control and declaring an emergency.
At 0817 the Air Tractor landed on runway 34, however the damaged right float struts were unable to support the weight of the aircraft, and it collapsed onto the right float after landing (Figure 1). The aircraft was subsequently stranded on the runway and emergency services attended. The crew members evacuated the aircraft without injury.
Following the accident, the pilot reported that all 3 aircraft had successfully completed water uplifts from the same location on the previous day. On this occasion, the pilot reported that the glassy water conditions[1] made it difficult to establish the aircraft's height above the water's surface, and the aircraft had hit a submerged object during the scooping run. Due to the risk of unknown hazards at this location, the operator sent a direction to all crew to suspend scooping operations from Lake Koroneia until further notice.
Figure 1: Damaged float struts led to collapse on landing
Source: Operator
Safety message
In murky water, obstructions may not always be visible and the potential for hitting submerged or partly submerged debris is an ever‑present hazard for such operations. Overflying the intended scooping area to scan for such obstacles is always good practice.
In this case, the crew’s quick actions to discontinue operations and pre‑organise emergency services at the airport for their arrival, decreased the risk of injury during their emergency landing.
The hazards that exist in conducting low‑level operations over water have long been recognised (ATSB, 2012) and include the risks of visual illusion and altered depth perception. These factors can make it difficult for pilots to accurately judge the height above water, especially over featureless or reflective surfaces. Flying over calm, glassy water is particularly dangerous, but even choppy water with a constantly varying surface interferes with normal depth perception. Regularly checking the altimeter and establishing smooth descent rates for water alighting during such operations can assist in raising safety margins.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.
[1] Glassy water can be present across a broad spectrum, from a mirror-like surface to rippled or wavy water, which reflects a distorted image. The reason it presents a challenge for pilots is that without texture on the surface of the water, it is more difficult to judge height.