Cessna 182P N58594

Summary

On 16 June 2001 at about 09:55 local time, a Cessna 182P registered N58594 was involved in an accident near Oswego, New York, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 June 2001 at 09:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Oswego, New York, United States

Coordinates

43.4491, -76.4991

Aircraft

Cessna 182P

Registration

N58594

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Holley → Rochester

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

NYC01LA148

1 person died.

The pilot's inadequate altitude clearance above water while conducting low level flight maneuvers. A factor related to the accident was the pilot's impairment of judgment due to alcohol consumption.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to a friend of the pilot, he and the pilot had entered a nightclub about midnight, and "had a few drinks...probably 5 or so." After leaving the nightclub about 0300, the friend and pilot drove back to the friend's home. About 0500, the pilot decided to fly the airplane back to its home base. While en route, witnesses observed the airplane "circling charter fishing boats 2 or 3 times at low level, approximately 2-3 feet above the water." During the last low pass, the airplane made a "sharp" left turn and the left wing impacted the water. The airplane broke into two pieces and sank in 150 feet of water. The pilot's remains were recovered two days after the accident. According to the Medical Examiner's autopsy report, the pilot's blood alcohol level was reported as 0.07%. According to the FAA Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory Final Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident report, the amount of ethanol found in the pilot blood was "59 mg/dL" (0.059 %). These levels exceed the limit published by the FAA in FAR 91.17, which stated in part "No person may act or attempt to act as a crewmember of a civil aircraft... while having .04 percent by weight or more alcohol in the blood." The FAR also prohibited a pilot from flying "within 8 hours after the consumption of any alcoholic beverage."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.