Amateur-built Murphy Rebel accident near Hilton Head, South Carolina, November 23, 2002
On November 23, 2002 at about 2:50 pm local time, a amateur-built Murphy Rebel, registered N14UJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hilton Head, South Carolina (Hilton Head airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an aborted landing that resulted in the in-flight collision with a ditch.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 23, 2002 · about 2:50 pm local time
- Place
- Hilton Head, South Carolina · Hilton Head · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Murphy Rebel
- Registration
- N14UJ · no longer on the register · serial 146R
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot and the previous owner were completing a required five-hour block of flight time in the Murphy Rebel when the accident occurred. The pilot further stated that following the landing on the first third of the 4300-foot-long runway, the airplane veered off the left side of the runway. The pilot applied full power in an effort to correct the left drift and to establish a climb. The airplane plunged into a nearby canal as the pilot attempted to establish a climb. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. The pilot had purchased the airplane the day before the accident and had flown three hours total time in the Murphy Rebel.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 460 hours in all; 2 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 261 as pilot in command; 118 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 11, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 300 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 2002; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru EL22 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HXD Hilton Head SC at 9:00 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 03, 4,300 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.21 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 pm from NBC
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.