# Accident 19980726017729A: Amtr SEAREY, Clearmont, FL, July 26, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: July 26, 1998, 06:20 local time - Place: Clearmont, FL - Airport: Flying Gators - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 28.5507° N, 81.7507° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.5507&lon=-81.7507&mi=10 - Aircraft: N80JH, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N80JH-2000-07-18) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Hinchman James B SEAREY (registry code 05604O1, https://openairdocs.org/model/hinchman-james-b-searey) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR SEAREY - Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX912 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 704 total, 144 in this make and model, 34 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98LA210](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA210) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980726017729A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT DID NOT GET FLYING SPEED DURING TAKEOFF, CRASHED INTO A HANGER ON TOP OF ULTRALIGHT ACFT, 2 MINOR INJ. (.4)ON JULY 26, 1998, ABOUT 0620 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN EXPERIMENTAL KIT-BUILT, AMPHIBIOUS SEAREY, N80JH, REGISTERED TO PROGRESSIVE AERODYNE, INC., OPERATIN AS A 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLGIHT, CRASHED ON TAKEOFF FROM FLORIDA FLYING GATORS AIRPARK, CLERMONT, FLORIDA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRPLANE RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE, A HANGAR ON THE FIELD WAS DAMAGED , AN ULTRALIGHT IN THE HANGAR WAS DESTROYED, AND THE PRIVAT-RATED PILOT AND PRIVATE-RATED PASSENGER SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE AND THE SAME PASSENGER HAD FLOWN THE AIRPLANE FOR ABOUT 3 HOURS AND 10 LANDINGS ON THE PREVIOUS DAY. ON THIS TAKEOFF, AS NUMBER 2 OF A 3 SHIP SEAREY FORMATION BOUND FOR OSHKOSH, BECAUSE THE AIRPLANE WAS LOADED HEAVIER THAN THE DAY BEFORE, THE PILOT CASUALLY MENTIONED TO HIS PASSENGER, "IT MIGHT BE HARDER TO GET OFF THE GROUND THAN YESTERDAY." ON ROTATION, THE PITCH CONTROLS WERE MANIPILATED TO THE NOSE UP ATTITUDE SO FAST, BECAUSE OF THE PASSENGER'S "HELP" ON THE CONTROLS, THAT DESPITE THE PILOT'S COUNTERING THE ACTION BY PUSHING PITCH CONTROL NOSE DOWN, AT ABOUT 40 FEET AGL, THE AIRPLANE STALLED , FELL OFF THE THE LEFT, PENETRATED THE HANGAR ROOF, AND COLLIDED WITH A HANGARED ULTRALIGHT. THE PILOT MENTIONED HE OWNS A DIFFERENTLY CONFIGURED SEAREY; HIS MODEL STALL AT 33 MPH, WHEREAS THE ACCIDENT MODEL STALLS AT 45 MPH. ACCORDING TO THE PRIVATE PILOT-RATED PASSENGER, FORWARD VISIBILITY OUT THE WINDSHIELD WAS THE SINGLE BIGGEST FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT. UPON ARRIVAL AT THE AIRCRAFT FOR THE DAWN DEPARTURE, HE NOTICED THE COCKPIT GLASS REQUIRED REPEATED WIPINGS, INSIDE AND OUT, DURING PREFIGHT WALK-AROUNG, DUE TO THE EARLY MORNING HUMIDITY. EVEN AS THE PILOT ADDED POWER FOR TAKEOFF, WINDSHIELD CLARITY WAS REDUCED, AND ACCORDING TO THE PASSENGER, RUNWAY CENTERLINETRACKING APPEARED DIFFICULT TO SEE, AND A LEFT DRIFT ENSUED. ON ROTATION, ONCE AIRBORNE, THE PILOT MUTTERED SOMETHING SIMILAR TO, "SOMETHING'S WRONG", THE STICK WAS OSCILLATING SIDE-TO-SIDE, AND HANGAR AVOIDANCE BECAME CONCERN. THE PASSENTER REMEMBERS SEEING THE CONTROL STICK MOVE RIGHT AND REARWARD, FELLING A STALL, AND GRABBING THE STICK. WHEN ASKED HIS OPINION ON HAVING A PILOT-RATED PASSENGER TAKING CONTROL FROM THE PILOT IN COMMAND OF AN AIRCRAFT, HE STATED, "THERE'S NO WAY A LESS EXPERIENCED PILOT SHOULD TOUCH THE CONTROLS WHILE THE OTHER PILOT IS STRUGGLING TO KEEP THE AIRCRAFT FLYABLE." IN A SUBSEQUENT TELEPHONE CONVERSATION HE ASKED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE WRITTEN INTO THE ACCIDENT REPORT, "IF EVERYTHING IS GOING OK, THERE IS NO REASON TO TOUCH THE CONTROLS. NO-ONE IN A SOUND MIND, IF THE TAKEOFF IS GOING OK, WOULD TOUCH THE CONTROLS WITHOUT ADVISING THE PIC." THE PILOTS OF THE OTHER TWO SEAREYS STATED THAT THEY ALSO ENCOUNTERED WINGSHIELD FOGGING DUE TO THE HIGH HUMIDITY, BUT IN THEIR COLLECTIVE OPINION, IT WAS MANAGEABLE SITUATION. (-23) THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WAS ON TAKE OFF ROLL. THE PILOT INDICATED THAT HIS PASSENGER BECAME EXCITED AND GRABBED THE CONTROLS. THE AIRPLANE BECAME AIRBORNE PREMATURELY, CLIMBED TO APPROX. 50 FT ALTITUDE, STALLED AND CRASHED THROUGH THE ROOF OF AN OPEN HANGAR LANDING ON THE TOP OF AN ULTRA LIGHT. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA98LA210](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98LA210), Jul 26, 1998: Progressive Aerodyne Searey (N80JH), Clermont, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain directional control and his failure to maintain obstacle (hangar)clearance. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.