ERA26LA052

On November 19, 2025, about 1630 eastern standard time, an experimental, amateur-built Long EZ, N82MT, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Beaufort, South Carolina. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The airplane departed the Chesapeake Regional Airport (CPK), Chesapeake, Virginia, at 1345, with an intended destination of Zephyrhills Municipal Airport (ZPH), Zephyrhills, Florida. Preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data obtained from the FAA showed that the airplane climbed to an altitude of 5,500 ft mean sea level (msl) after takeoff. Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes into the flight, the airplane began a slow descent to 1,500 ft msl and at 1545, the airplane’s altitude fluctuated between 1,300 and 475 ft msl. The pilot reported that at approximately 1620, at an altitude of 1,500 ft above ground level (agl), the airplane’s engine began to run “extremely rough.” The pilot switched fuel tanks, applied carburetor heat, enriched the mixture, then leaned the mixture, turned on and off the auxiliary fuel pump, advanced and retarded the throttle, but the engine “ran progressively worse.” When the airplane was at approximately 500 ft agl, the engine lost all power, and the pilot performed a forced landing in a coastal tributary stream. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The wreckage was retained for further examination.