Amateur-built DOUBLE EAGLE accident near Cape Carteret, North Carolina, November 30, 1983
On November 30, 1983 at about 9:55 pm local time, a amateur-built DOUBLE EAGLE (ultralight), registered UNREG, was destroyed in an accident near Cape Carteret, North Carolina (Cape Carteret, Pvt. Strip airport). It was a personal flight under ultralight rules (Part 103). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 30, 1983 · about 9:55 pm local time
- Place
- Cape Carteret, North Carolina · Cape Carteret, Pvt. Strip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DOUBLE EAGLE DOUBLE EAG
- Registration
- UNREG · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · ultralight rules (Part 103)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
REPORTEDLY, THE PLT HAD PREVIOUSLY FLOWN IN A 2 PLACE ULTRALIGHT VEHICLE, BUT HAD NOT FLOWN IN ONE THAT WAS EQUIPPED WITH A CANARD. HE INDICATED TO THE OWNER THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO TAXI THE ULTRALIGHT. THE OWNER OBLIGED AFTER EXPLAINING THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE & BEING SURE THE PLT WOULD WEAR A HELMET. THE PLT WAS CAUTIONED TO KEEP HIS SPEED BELOW 20 MPH SO AS TO AVOID BECOMING AIRBORNE. THE OWNER & ANOTHER WITNESS OBSERVED THE PLT AS HE STARTED TO TAXI DOWN THE RWY. THEY STATED THAT THE ULTRALIGHT WAS ZIGZAGGING & THAT THE PLT INCREASED AND DECREASED THE POWER SEVERAL TIMES AS THE VEHICLE WOULD SPEED UP & SLOW DOWN. THE ULTRALIGHT CONTINUED DOWN THE RWY AND BECAME AIRBORNE AS IT TRAVELED OVER A RISE. WITNESSES HEARD A POWER REDUCTION & LOST SIGHT OF THE ULTRALIGHT MOMENTARILY. AN INCREASE IN POWER WAS THEN HEARD & THE VEHICLE REAPPEARED ABOVE THE HORIZON. REPORTEDLY, THE ULTRALIGHT PITCHED UP, THENPITCHED DOWN & CRASHED, THE WEIGHT SHIFT VHEICLE HAD BUNGEES FROM THE SEAT TO THE CANARD. NO AIRSPEED GAGE INSTALLED.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,600 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 30 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 510 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cuyuna 430B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 3,700 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from EWN, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 UNREG 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.