Aircraft model
LAKE LA-4-200
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Lake Buccaneer is a four-seat amphibian with a hull, retractable wheels and a 200 hp Lycoming mounted on a pylon above and behind the cabin driving a pusher propeller. It is one of very few amphibians ever built for the private owner rather than for utility work.
That versatility is the point and it comes with real costs. An amphibian is heavier, slower and thirstier than an equivalent landplane, the hull must be kept watertight and inspected, and corrosion is a constant concern on an aeroplane that lives in and near water. The pylon-mounted pusher gives strong pitch changes with power, which takes learning. Water operations require a seaplane rating. At exactly 200 hp no high-performance endorsement applies.
Compare with…
Put LAKE LA-4-200 side by side with up to two other models.
- LAKE LA-4-200
What it is
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Lycoming IO-360-A1B |
| Horsepower | 200 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1970 |
| Production end | 1980 |
| Endorsements required | complex |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 130 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 600 nm |
| Service ceiling | 14,700 ft |
| Climb rate | 1,200 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 45 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 4 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 1,135 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 811 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 2,690 lb |
| Empty weight | 1,555 lb |
| Usable fuel | 54 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 11.2 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $65,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $140,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 2,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $34,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $48,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 271 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 91 |
| Median year built | 1974.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 5 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 54.95 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 32.97 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 11 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 12.09 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 6 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 91 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 91 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 91 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 3-4 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 2.7 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 8.9 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 3 of 103 |
| Support | 3.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.5 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 19 out of 506 |
These record scores treat LAKE LA-4-200 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes the record of aircraft once registered under AEROFAB INC. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 32.28 · 202 models in class.
- Severity: class median 12.5.
- Access: class median 775.
- Support: class median 147.5.
- Liquidity: class median 19.9.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.