Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Delray Beach, Florida 33444
Friday, December 3, 1993 20:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

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.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

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.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/3/1993
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2045
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City DELRAY BEACH
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33444
Event Date Year 1993
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
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 2056 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 189
Weather Observation Facility ID PBI
Elevation of weather observation facility 19
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4600
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 19
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 50
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1778
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Dec 3 1993 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2230
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 1:48PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N60517
NTSB Number MIA94FA034
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 150J
Aircraft Series Identifier 150J
Aircraft Serial Number 15071116
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Nov 8 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 71
Airframe Hours 7166
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PINK CLOUD LEASING SERVICES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 4759 POSEIDON
Aircraft Owner City LAKE WORTH
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33463
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
Owner has at least one certificate None
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 --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BCT
Departure City BOCA ROTAN
Departure State FL
Departure Country
Departure Time 2025
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code LNA
Destination City LANTANA
Destination State FL
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
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 --