ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 206936
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| Date: | Wednesday 28 February 2018 |
| Time: | 19:30 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172S Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | Middle River Aviation Llc |
| Registration: | N615JA |
| MSN: | 172S10554 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2007 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 6206 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-360-L2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | At sea off Assateague State Park, Worcester County, MD -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Baltimore, MD (MTN) |
| Ocean City, MD (OXB) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The non-instrument-rated private pilot rented the airplane on the day of the accident for a night visual flight rules cross-country flight in visual meteorological conditions. A review of radar track data showed that the airplane initiated a descent from 3,500 ft mean sea level (msl) about 15 nautical miles (nm) from the destination airport; the last recorded radar track data showed the airplane at an altitude of 1,350 ft msl about 3 nm from the destination airport.
The airplane was reported missing the following morning, and an oil slick was subsequently discovered about 2 miles from the end of the runway at the destination airport. Divers located the wreckage; however, it was not recovered, and an examination of the airplane could not be performed.
Sun and moon data revealed that the moon was 98% illuminated about 45 degrees above the horizon to the east about the time of the accident; however, overcast clouds would have obscured its illumination.
The dark night conditions combined with a an approach to the airport over water would have increased the difficulty associated with the tasks of maintaining aircraft attitude control and maintaining awareness of the airplane's height above the water while maneuvering to land. It is likely that the pilot either lost control due to spatial disorientation or inadvertently descended into the water; however, without track information from the final moments of the flight, there is insufficient information from which to determine which scenario was more likely involved in the accident.
Probable Cause: The pilot's flight in dark night visual meteorological conditions, which resulted in an impact with water for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=615JA
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N615JA/history/20180228/2256Z/KMTN/KOXB
Location
Images:
Media:
@MDNRPolice say they were called around 10:45 am to the north end of Assateague Island for a missing plane out of Ocean City Municipal Airport. An oil slick has been found in the water. @MDSP are investigating.
— Gary Sheridan (@WBAL_Gary) 1 mars 2018
The search for a downed plane off the coast Assateague Island has been halted due to high winds https://t.co/tp0oh2rTga
— Delmarva Now (@MyDelmarvaNow) 2 mars 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Mar-2018 21:30 | Iceman 29 | Added |
| 01-Mar-2018 21:36 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 01-Mar-2018 23:21 | Geno | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code] |
| 02-Mar-2018 04:12 | Geno | Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 02-Mar-2018 15:06 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Mar-2018 12:05 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Total fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Photo, ] |
| 19-Mar-2018 11:42 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 22-May-2020 09:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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