Amateur-built SEAHAWK accident near Orange, Massachusetts, June 8, 1993
On June 8, 1993 at about 11:00 pm local time, a amateur-built SEAHAWK, registered N5857X, was destroyed in an accident near Orange, Massachusetts (Orange Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's excessive rotation and failure to obtain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall and inflight collision with the terrain. A factor was the pilot's inexperience in the type aircraft.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 8, 1993 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Orange, Massachusetts · Orange Muni
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SEAHAWK
- Registration
- N5857X · no longer on the register · serial 111
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS CONDUCTING THE INITIAL TEST FLIGHT IN AN EXPERIMENTAL AIRPLANE HE HAD BUILT. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, DURING THE TAKEOFF, THE AIRPLANE LIFTED OFF, DESCENDED, BOUNCED ON THE RUNWAY AND THEN BECAME AIRBORNE AGAIN. THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED TO A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE, ROLLED LEFT, DESCENDED AND IMPACTED ON THE RUNWAY, WHERE IT CAME TO REST INVERTED, OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNAY. THE PILOT HAD NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN TYPE.
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
- Flight time: 300 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-B2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ORE at 11:00 pm
- Destination: ORE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 5,000 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.
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.