Amateur-built Long EZ accident near Beaufort, South Carolina, November 19, 2025
On November 19, 2025 at about 9:30 pm local time, a 2017 amateur-built Long EZ, registered N82MT, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Beaufort, South Carolina (Beaufort Exec airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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 19, 2025 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Beaufort, South Carolina · Beaufort Exec · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Long EZ NO SERIES, built 2017
- Registration
- N82MT · registry record · serial 004
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On November 19, 2025, about 1630 eastern standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Long EZ, N82MT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Beaufort, South Carolina. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The airplane departed the Chesapeake Regional Airport (CPK), Chesapeake, Virginia, at 1345, with an intended destination of Zephyrhills Municipal Airport (ZPH), Zephyrhills, Florida. Preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data obtained from the FAA showed that the airplane climbed to an altitude of 5,500 ft mean sea level (msl) after takeoff. Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes into the flight, the airplane began a slow descent to 1,500 ft msl and at 1545, the airplane’s altitude fluctuated between 1,300 and 475 ft msl. The pilot reported that at approximately 1620, at an altitude of 1,500 ft above ground level (agl), the airplane’s engine began to run “extremely rough.” The pilot switched fuel tanks, applied carburetor heat, enriched the mixture, then leaned the mixture, turned on and off the auxiliary fuel pump, advanced and retarded the throttle, but the engine “ran progressively worse.” When the airplane was at approximately 500 ft agl, the engine lost all power, and the pilot performed a forced landing in a coastal tributary stream. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The wreckage was retained for further examination.
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 engine power (total) during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Ditching during landing
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 244 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 22, 2025
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
The flight
- Departed from: KCPK Chesapeak VA at 6:45 pm
- Destination: KZPH Zephyrhills FL
- Flight plan: VFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from KNBC, 9 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KNBC 192056Z 26008KT 7SM FEW030 SCT200 28/16 A3006 RMK AO2 SLP180 T02830161 56014
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check 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.