# NTSB ATL03LA018: Hickman Murphy Rebel, N14UJ, Hilton Head, SC, November 23, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: November 23, 2002, 09:50 local (14:50 UTC) - Place: Hilton Head, SC - Coordinates: 32.224998, -80.698333 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.2250&lon=-80.6983&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 2, 2004 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Columbia FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 56118 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL03LA018 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/56118/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL03LA018 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an aborted landing that resulted in the in-flight collision with a ditch. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - aborted - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - In flight collision with terrain/water, landing - aborted - terrain condition - ditch ## Analysis The pilot and the previous owner were completing a required five-hour block of flight time in the Murphy Rebel when the accident occurred. The pilot further stated that following the landing on the first third of the 4300-foot-long runway, the airplane veered off the left side of the runway. The pilot applied full power in an effort to correct the left drift and to establish a climb. The airplane plunged into a nearby canal as the pilot attempted to establish a climb. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. The pilot had purchased the airplane the day before the accident and had flown three hours total time in the Murphy Rebel. ## Factual narrative On November 23, 2002, at 0950 eastern standard time, a Hickman, Murphy Rebel experimental airplane, N14UJ, registered to and operated by a private owner, collided with a ditch on the departure end of runway 03 during a landing at the Hilton Head Airport, in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The flight departed Hilton Head, South Carolina, at 0900, on November 23, 2002. According to the pilot, he and the previous owner were completing a required five-hour block of flight time in the Murphy Rebel when the accident occurred. The pilot further stated that following the landing on first third of the 4300-foot long runway, the airplane veered off the left side of the runway into the grass. The pilot applied full power in an effort to correct the left drift and to establish a climb. The airplane plunged into a nearby canal as the pilot attempted to establish a climb. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. The pilot had purchased the airplane the day before the accident and had flown three hours total time in the Murphy Rebel. The pilot reported that the winds were out of the northwest at about 5 knots. ## Aircraft - Registration: N14UJ (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: Hickman Murphy Rebel - Category: Airplane, amateur-built - Serial number: 146R - Airframe hours: 300 - Engines: Subaru EL22 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Bruce Hann - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Experimental (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, November 1, 2002, 10 hours before - Departed: HXD, Hilton Head, SC - Airport: HXD, Hilton Head, runway 03, 4,300 × 75 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 48; injuries: none; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review July 11, 2001; seat: left; flight hours: 460 total, 2 in this make and model, 261 as pilot in command, 4 in the last 90 days, 1 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 330° at 7 knots - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 39 °F, dew point 30 °F - Altimeter: 30.21 inHg - Observed at: NBC ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20021123036169A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021123036169A), Nov 23, 2002: Amtr MURPHYREBEL, Hilton Head Is, SC, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot lost control of aircraft upon landing and crashed into drainage ditch. [privacy data omitted] 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. --- 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.