Amateur-built SEA REY accident near Gloucester, Virginia, December 26, 1997
On December 26, 1997 at about 7:15 pm local time, a amateur-built SEA REY, registered N100RZ, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gloucester, Virginia. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during landing, which resulted in a nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 26, 1997 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Gloucester, Virginia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SEA REY
- Registration
- N100RZ · registry record · serial 1MK-100
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was conducting a touch-and-go landing on a river when the experimentally certificated, amphibious airplane nosed over. The next thing the pilot knew he was hanging upside down in the water. He exited the airplane, and stood on the wing waiting for help. Before he could be rescued the airplane sank, and the pilot swam ashore. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions. The pilot did not have a single engine sea rating. Federal Aviation Regulations exempt pilots of experimental aircraft from the requirements of possessing a rating in the category of aircraft they are operating.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 235 hours in all; 165 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 171 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 1996
- Maximum gross weight: 1,250 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JGG West Point VA at 7:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:51 pm from ORF, 40 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 N100RZ 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.