Amateur-built SEA REY accident near Huntsville, Arkansas, March 18, 2010
On March 18, 2010 at about 6:00 pm local time, a amateur-built SEA REY, registered N100JW, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Huntsville, Arkansas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's loss of airplane control for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 18, 2010 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Huntsville, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SEA REY
- Registration
- N100JW · registry record · serial 1MK142
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot made adjustments to the pitch on his experimental single-engine airplane's propeller and subsequently departed. On the first takeoff, the airplane was observed flying low over the runway for approximately 2,000 feet before it landed back on the runway. The pilot taxied back to the departure end of the runway and departed again. A witness said that, when the airplane was adjacent to a windsock located on the runway, the airplane made a sharp right turn over a parking area. It then turned southeast before making another right turn. The airplane then stalled, became inverted, and collided with the ground at a 45-degree angle. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preaccident mechanical anomalies. The pilot had reportedly been having trouble sleeping due to a painful spider bite and toxicology testing was consistent with relatively recent use of an over-the-counter multi-symptom cold medication containing an antihistamine with impairing effects. While impairment or distraction due to fatigue, uncomfortable symptoms, and/or medication may have adversely affected the pilot's performance and judgment while working on the airplane, piloting the airplane, and/or during the response to an actual or perceived emergency, the investigation was unable to determine that impairment was a factor in the accident.
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
What happened, in order
- Loss of control in flight during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Incomplete action › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 358 hours in all; 15 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Subuaru (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Huntsville AR at 6:00 pm
- Destination: Huntsville AR
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 9,000 ft
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from FYV, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN10LA165.