# Accident 20000211007869A: Amtr SEAWIND3000, Cumberland Gap, VA, February 11, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: February 11, 2000, 14:35 local time - Place: Cumberland Gap, VA - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Normal Cruise - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 36.6093° N, 83.7199° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.6093&lon=-83.7199&mi=10 - Aircraft: N94WB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N94WB-2017-07-12) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Wood Daniel J SEAWIND 3000 (registry code 95708FB, https://openairdocs.org/model/wood-daniel-j-seawind-3000) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming IO-540 series (registry code 41530, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-540-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AMTR SEAWIND3000 - Reported engine: LYC IO540* - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - Pilot flight hours: 321 total, 18 in this make and model, 34 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB IAD00LA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD00LA021) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000211007869A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) ON 2/11/00 AT APPROX. 1435 EST, A SEAWIND 3000 EXPERIMENTAL A/C, N94WB, WAS DESTROYED AFTER COLLIDING WITH TREES AND MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WHILE MANUEVERING OVER CUMBERLAND GAP NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK, VA. THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS IN A REMOTE AREA ON A HILLSIDE AT AN ELEVATION OF APPROX. 2200' AND THE DEBRIS FIELD WAS APPROX. 250 YARDS LONG. (.4) ON FEBRUARY 11, 2000, ABOUT 1435 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A HOMEBUILT SEAWIND 3000 AMPHIBIAN AIRPLANE, N94WB, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AFTER COLLIDING WITH TREES AND MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING OVER CUMBERLAND GAP NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, CUMBERLAND, VIRGINIA. THE CERTIFICATED PRIVATE PILOT/OWNER/BUILDER AND PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED IN DUNELLON, FLORIDA, AT 0844 DESTINED FOR PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, WITH AN INTERMEDIARY STOP IN DOUGLAS, GEORGIA. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 91. INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. A WITNESS WHO LIVED NEAR THE PARK WAS IN HIS HOUSE WHEN HE HEARD THE AIRPLANE. HE WAS INTERVIEWED VIA TELEPHONE BY A FEDERAL AVIATION A DMINISTRATION (FAA) INSPECTOR. ACCORDING TO THE RECORD OF CONVERSATION, THE WITNESS SAID: "APPROXIMATELY 3:00 PM - NO SIGHT - ONLY HEARD AIRPLANE FROM INDOORS. THE ENGINE WAS SPUTTERING, AND WAS COMING ON AND OFF. HE RAN OUTSIDE TO THE BACK DECK AND LOOKED UP. THERE WAS A LOT OF FOG BUT HE DID NOT SEE THE AIRPLANE. HE STILL HEARD SPUTTERING FOR ABOUT FIVE SECONDS, THEN HEARD THE SOUND OF THE AIRPLANE HITTING TREES, THEN SILENCE." A SECOND WITNESS, AN ENGINEER, ALSO LIVED NEAR THE PARK AND HEARD THE AIRPLANE. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, HE SAID: "I HEARD A SMALL PLANE WITH THE ENGINE AT FULL THROTTLE, ABOUT 7 TO 10 SECONDS WITH NO MISSING SOUND, BUT FULL REV. ALSO, WHAT SOUNDED LIKE A CRASH AND THE CRACKING OF TIMBER AND THEN THE ENGINE WENT SILENT. I NOTICED THE POSSIBLE STRONG WIND GUSTS AT 1,300 FEET AND THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS APPROXIMATELY 2,400 FEET." A THIRD WITNESS, AN AUTO MECHANIC, LIVED NEAR THE PARK AND WAS IN HIS YARD WORKING WHEN HE OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE FLYING OVER HIS HOME. HE WAS INTERVIEWED VIA THE TELEPHONE BY AN FAA INSPECTOR. ACCORDING TO THE RECORD OF CONVERSATION, THE WITNESS SAID: "IT WAS APPROXIMATELY 1430 WHEN HE FIRST SAW AND HEARD THE AIRPLANE HEADING TOWARDS THE MIDDLEBORO AIRPORT, MIDDLEBORO, KENTUCKY. THE AIRPLANE WAS WHITE IN COLOR. THE AIRPLANE WENT DIRECTLY OVER HIS HOME AND MADE A RIGHT TURN TOWARD THE PINNACLE, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST PEAK IN THE PARK. WHEN THE AIRPLANE TURNED RIGHT, HE HEARD THE AIRPLANE GO FULL POWER TOWARDS THE PINNACLE, WHICH WAS FOGGED IN. THE AIRPLANE DISAPPEARED OVER THE RIDGE INTO THE CLOUD COVER AND THEN HEARD A CRACKING NOISE OF TREES THEN SILENCE. HE STATED THE WEATHER WAS VERY CLOUDY AND THE PINNACLE AREA WAS SOCKED IN WITH HEAVY FOG. HE WAS CONFUSED AS TO WHY THE AIRPLANE TURNED OFF HIS ORIGINAL HEADING TOWARD THE AIRPORT." THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN INSIDE THE CUMBERLAND GAP NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, APPROXIMATELY 5 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTHEAST OF MIDDLEBORO AIRPORT (1A6), MIDDLEBORO, KENTUCKY. TWO FAA INSPECTORS EXAMINED THE AIRPLANE ON-SITE. AN INSPECTOR REPORTED THAT THE WRECKAGE PATH WAS APPROXIMATELY 250 YARDS LONG, AT AN APPROXIMATE ELEVATION OF 2,200 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL (MSL). BOTH WINGS WERE SHEERED FROM THE AIRPLANE AT THE WING ROOT. THE FUSELAGE CAME TO REST ON THE RIGHT SIDE, AND THE ENGINE SEPARATED FROM THE PYLON. ## 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 IAD00LA021](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/IAD00LA021), Feb 11, 2000: Wood Seawind 3000 (N94WB), Cumberland Gap, VA, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's continued flight from visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions. 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.