ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 36532
Last updated: 2 July 2020
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | 03-DEC-1993 |
| Time: | 20:45 |
| Type: |  Cessna 150J |
| Owner/operator: | Pink Cloud Leasing Services |
| Registration: | N60517 |
| C/n / msn: | 15071116 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Delray Beach, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Boca Rotan, FL (BCT) |
| Lantana, FL (LNA) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
The commercial pilot leveled off at 500 feet agl, and was flying parallel to the shoreline at night. The pilot described the weather conditions as very dark, with no natural horizon, and the only visible light was located on the shoreline. The passenger stated, look how beautiful it is over there. The pilot looked at the shoreline, and felt something was wrong. The buildings looked closer than they should have been. He looked at the altimeter and noticed the airplane was descending through 200 feet. He pulled back on the control yoke and made a left turn. The airplane did not appear to climb. The pilot turned to the right and back to the left. The next thing he remembered was being under water trying to get to the surface. CAUSE: The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain altitude while maneuvering. This resulted in the pilot becoming spatially disoriented, and subsequent in-flight collision with the ocean. Contributing to the accident was the dark night with no visible horizon.
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001211X13889
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description