Experimental Amphib Building Up Ponderous Accident Record

Another experimental Seawind (file photos, below) amphibious SportPlane went down this past weekend, taking the lives of both souls aboard. The Coast Guard reportedly found the remains of one of the two people who were on board Seawind 3000 N88PS. The aircraft went down in the Atlantic near Wrightsville Beach, NC, on Sunday morning.

The aircraft was reported as missing and possibly down at 0212 Sunday, with the Coast Guard responding. The remains of a female occupant were recovered later that morning and the search remains ongoing.

Witness reports in the local media indicate that the aircraft was flying fairly low when it went down. According to witnesses Michael Todd and his wife, they observed the aircraft while sitting on a docked boat, nearby. “It was coming in low enough for us to notice it... No time later it was going over Figure Eight Island and my wife said, ‘Wow that’s going really low.’”

Todd also reported that the he "could hear the engine revving just before the plane went vertically into the ocean."

The Seawind 3000, registered amateur-built/experimental, was owned by Samson Flying Service of Wilmington, Del. It was powered by a Lycoming IO-540 and was completed in 1997. No destination, origin or other flight details were known by the FAA at the time of this report, since the aircraft was not flying under any known flight plan.

** Report created 8/29/2005 Record 24 **
IDENTIFICATION
 Regis#: 88PS Make/Model: EXP Description: SEAWIND
 Date: 08/28/2005 Time: 0600
 Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
 Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
 City: WILMINGTON State: NC Country: US

DESCRIPTION
ACFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES INTO THE OCEAN, THE TWO PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY INJURED, WILMINGTON, NC

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 2
 # Crew: 2 Fat: 2 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
 # Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
 # Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
WEATHER: NOT REPORTED
OTHER DATA
 Departed: Dep Date: Dep. Time:
 Destination: Flt Plan: Wx Briefing:
 Last Radio Cont:  Last Clearance:
 FAA FSDO: GREENSBORO, NC (SO05) Entry date: 08/29/2005

This is the fourth (known) fatal accident for a Seawind out of some 50-60 flying aircraft. Previous accidents have killed five people in three previous fatal accident reports. A February 11, 2000 in Cumberland Gap, VA, killed two when a Seawind went down in IFR conditions, impacting with higher terrain. NTSB ruled the probable cause(s) of the accident as, "The pilot's continued flight from visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions."

On November 30, 2002 in Bryant, WA, another Seawind (N313FC) accident claimed two more. The NTSB narrative here is a bit more problematic, noting that "The 1,570 hour pilot/builder, along with a 9,000 hour commercial pilot (who had 150 hours experience in the make/model), departed in the homebuilt Seawind 3000 amphibious aircraft on a test flight after a little more than 12 hours of test flying. After approximately 30 minutes witnesses observed the aircraft go from a climb into a descending spiral. One witness reported that he heard the engine quit while others described varying engine sounds characteristic of decaying or intermittent power. One witness observed the aircraft's wings rocking about the longitudinal axis and 3/4 through the third spiral the nose dropped. The aircraft impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude with minimal evidence of horizontal motion through the heavily wooded terrain of the crash site. A post-crash fire consumed most of the aircraft. On site examination found no evidence of mechanical malfunction with the aircraft's controls and an engine disassembly and examination revealed the same findings for the powerplant. Propeller slash marks along the side of one of the trees at the ground impact site suggested a minimum of 1000 RPM an instant before ground impact. The center of gravity was estimated to be within limits at the time of the accident and the stall speed of the aircraft was reported as 64 knots (clean)." The NTSB reported the probable cause of this accident as "A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and the failure of the flying pilot to maintain flying speed resulting in an inadvertent stall, loss of control and subsequent collision with terrain."

Another fatality resulted in the loss of the pilot. On June 18, 2005 in Sarasota, FL, Seawind N7117 went down shortly after takeoff. The preliminary NTSB report states that, "On June 18, 2005, at 1807 eastern daylight time, a Rutherford homebuilt Seawind 3000, N7117, registered to and operated by the Airline Transport Pilot, collided into an unoccupied elementary school and burst into flames shortly after takeoff from the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, in Sarasota, Florida. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot received fatal injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated from the Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport, in Sarasota, Florida, on June 18, 2005 at 1757.

According to Air Traffic Controllers, the pilot requested a visual departure towards the Venice, Florida airport and departed the airport traffic area with a hand off to Tampa Approach Control. The pilot made initial contact with Tampa Approach Control and within two minutes the pilot requested a return to the Sarasota Airport. Tampa Approach Control instructed the pilot to turn north and issued a frequency change back to the Sarasota Airport Tower. The pilot checked in with the tower and requested a landing clearance back to Sarasota Airport. The controller issued a clearance to runway 27. About one minute later the pilot made a "mayday" call and declared that he was making a crash landing. There was no further communication.

Witnesses stated that the airplane was flying slowly with erratic lateral and pitch excursions. A witness at the crash site stated that he could not hear any engine sounds before the airplane first contacted the building. The airplane was recovered and moved to a hangar at the Sarasota Airport for further examination."

Several other non-fatal Seawind accidents are on record. All involved powerplant/fuel issues and extensive damage to the aircraft... a troubling record for such a small fleet of aircraft, even though the majority may be traced to pilot error or fuel mismanagement issues.

The kit-built aircraft has been through a number of owners and management issues over the years, settling down recently though sales have slowed as the design's "newness" wore off. A certificated version is reportedly in the works and repeated promises of January 2006 certification are looked at by industry insiders as "highly optimistic." 

FMI: www.ntsb.gov, www.seawind.biz