Amateur-built Seawind 3000 accident near Wrightsville Bh, North Carolina, August 28, 2005
On August 28, 2005 at about 6:12 am local time, a amateur-built Seawind 3000, registered N88PS, was destroyed in an accident near Wrightsville Bh, North Carolina (Wilmington International airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
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.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 28, 2005 · about 6:12 am local time
- Place
- Wrightsville Bh, North Carolina · Wilmington International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Seawind 3000
- Registration
- N88PS · no longer on the register · serial 15
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
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.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: KILM Wilmington NC at 6:08 am
- Destination: Unknown
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 020° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 300 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.88 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 am from KILM, 8 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N88PS the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.