Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Gulf Of Mexico Spb Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Key West, Florida 33040
Sunday, March 17, 1996 12:37 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
After takeoff, according to radar data, the airplane climbed to 200 feet, then descended to 100 feet. The pilot was advised to turn right to pass behind the approach corridor for a departing airplane. Witnesses observed the airplane flying towards buildings, and stated that the airplane, which was about 50-100 feet above the water, started banking to the right which increased to near a 90-degree angle of bank. The airplane then pitched nose down and impacted the water nose and right wing low, rolled inverted and sank in about 6 feet of water about 20 yards from a seawall. Examination and testing of the right magneto revealed that the point gap was 0.018 inch, which is greater than specified by the manufacturer, and the magneto fired intermittently throughout the entire rpm range. After adjusting the point gap to within limits, the right magneto operated normally. The engine was then run with replacement magnetos installed with their point gaps set as found on the accident magnetos. During the right magneto check, the rpm drop was 156 rpm greater than the left magneto check. Damage was also noted to the #1 cylinder top ignition lead. Examination of the aft bottom section of the right float revealed numerous damaged rivets which join the keel to the bottom skin panel near the aft bulkhead.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's improper decision to continue the flight rather than making an immediate water landing due to the low altitude of the airplane and obstructions ahead, which led to his intentional maneuver to avoid the obstructions and subsequent inadvertent stall and loss of control. Contributing to the accident were: an inadequate 100-hour inspection of the airplane by company maintenance personnel for failure to fix a damaged ignition lead and a partially separated keel on one of the floats, the pilot's inadequate preflight of the airplane for his failure to pump a float to remove water, and the pilot's intentional operation of the airplane with an excessive magneto drop.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 3/17/1996 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1237 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | KEY WEST |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 33040 |
| Event Date Year | 1996 |
| Event Date Month | 3 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | |
| Event Location Longitude | |
| Event Location Airport | GULF OF MEXICO SPB |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 6FL5 |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1240 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 198 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | EYW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 4 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 0 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 26 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 120 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | 5 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 6 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 1340 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Mar 17 1996 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1311 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 8 2000 9:54AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N9983Z |
| NTSB Number | MIA96FA100 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Destroyed |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Cessna |
| Aircraft Model | U206G |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | U206G |
| Aircraft Serial Number | U20606794 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3500 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Mar 15 1996 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 10 |
| Airframe Hours | 8443 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | KEY WEST SEAPLANE SERVICE |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 5603 W. JUNIOR COLLEGE ROAD |
| Aircraft Owner City | KEY WEST |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33040 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | |
| Operator City | |
| Operator State | |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | |
| Operator Code | FBPA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Unknown |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1234 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | DTF |
| Destination City | DRY TORTUGAS |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jan 2 2001 10:30AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |