Samson SEAWIND 3000 N88PS

Summary

On 28 August 2005 at about 06:12 local time, a Samson SEAWIND 3000 registered N88PS, operated by Bracey Myron Bobbitt, was involved in an accident near Wrightsville Bh, North Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 August 2005 at 06:12

Classification

Accident

Location

Wrightsville Bh, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Wilmington International (KILM)

Coordinates

34.2547, -77.7386

Aircraft

Samson SEAWIND 3000

Registration

N88PS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Bracey Myron Bobbitt

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wilmington → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ATL05LA154

2 people died.

The pilot's improper preflight decision to attempt night VFR flight into IMC, which resulted in an inflight encounter with weather and the pilot's subsequent loss of control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The non-instrument-rated private pilot was observed to drink an unknown quantity of one or more alcoholic beverages within 2 hours of the flight that departed about 0208 and crashed 4 minutes later. Radar data showed the flight headed eastbound to the coast, climbed to about 1,200 feet, then crossed over the coastline. Immediately there after, it entered a 360-degree turn to the right and descended rapidly into the ocean. Reported weather conditions at 0153 included ceilings broken at 300 feet, temperature 23 degrees centigrade, and dew point 22 degrees centigrade. Flight control and engine control continuity could not be determined from the available wreckage, however, the size of the recovered pieces was consistent with a high-energy impact with the water. According to FAA advisory circular 60-4A, "Lack of natural horizon or surface reference is common on over-water flights, at night, and especially at night in extremely sparsely populated areas or in low visibility conditions...can provide inaccurate visual information for aligning the aircraft correctly with the actual horizon. The disoriented pilot may place the aircraft in a dangerous attitude." The toxicology report for specimens from the pilot noted ethanol and butalbital (a prescription barbiturate) in muscle and evidence of putrefaction. A glass pipe found on the pilot tested positive for THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the primary active substance in marijuana.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.