Cessna U206G N9983Z

Summary

On 17 March 1996 at about 17:37 local time, a Cessna U206G registered N9983Z was involved in an accident near Key West, Florida, United States. 6 people were on board and 5 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 March 1996 at 17:37

Classification

Accident

Location

Key West, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Gulf of Mexico Spb (6FL5)

Coordinates

24.5497, -81.7807

Aircraft

Cessna U206G

Registration

N9983Z

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Dry Tortugas

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA96FA100

5 people died.

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.