At about 1211 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a forced water landing after a partial loss of power during initial climb. The private pilot/owner was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.
The pilot was executing a series of touch-and-go landings. After touching down, adding power and initiating climb, the airplane’s engine lost partial power, dropping to approximately 2000 rpm. The pilot elected to do a water landing on the Willimantic Reservoir, which was close to the end of the runway, but had too much speed. During a series of S-turns, the left lower wing’s float struck the water and separated from the airplane. After the airplane slowed to taxi speed the pilot noticed that the engine was still running but when he would advance the throttle, rpm would initially increase but almost immediately drop to 1000 rpm. The lower left wing was partially separated from its mounting location and the left upper wing was bent back approximately 20 degrees.
