# Accident 20161229022289A: Cessna 525C, Cleveland, OH, December 29, 2016 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: December 29, 2016, 22:57 local time - Place: Cleveland, OH - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Climb - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 41.5547° N, 81.7033° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.5547&lon=-81.7033&mi=10 - Aircraft: N614SB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N614SB-2020-02-03) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 525C (registry code 2076618, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-525c) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Williams FJ44-4A (registry code 66011, https://openairdocs.org/engine/williams-fj44-4a) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 525C - People aboard: 6 - Fatal injuries: 6 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 952 total, 38 in this make and model, 72 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN17FA072](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17FA072) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20161229022289A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON DECEMBER 29, 2016, AT 2257 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA MODEL 525C (CITATION CJ4) AIRPLANE, N614SB, WAS DESTROYED AFTER IMPACTING LAKE ERIE SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 24R (6,604 FEET BY 15O FEET, ASPHALT) AT THE BURKE LAKEFRONT AIRPORT (BKL), CLEVELAND, OHIO. THE PILOT AND FIVE PASSENGERS ARE MISSING AND PRESUMED FATAL. THE AIRPLANE WAS REGISTERED TO MAVERICK AIR LLC AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 AS A PERSONAL FLIGHT. NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE FLIGHT, WHICH WAS OPERATED ON AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN. THE INTENDED DESTINATION WAS THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY AIRPORT (OSU), COLUMBUS, OHIO. THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS INITIALLY DEPARTED OSU ABOUT 1730 AND ARRIVED AT BKL ABOUT 1800. THE PILOT CHECKED IN AT THE FIXED BASE OPERATOR (FBO) AT 1812. THE PILOT AND PASSENGERS REPORTEDLY ATTENDED A LOCAL SPORTING EVENT BEFORE RETURNING TO THE AIRPORT ABOUT 2230. AN INITIAL REVIEW OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) TRANSMISSIONS BETWEEN THE PILOT AND THE MIDWEST ATC FEDERAL CONTRACT TOWER AT BKL REVEALED THAT THE PILOT REQUESTED THE IFR CLEARANCE AT 2247, FOLLOWED BY THE TAXI CLEARANCE AT 2251. AT 2256, THE PILOT INFORMED THE BKL TOWER CONTROLLER THAT HE WAS HOLDING SHORT OF THE RUNWAY AND READY FOR TAKEOFF. THE CONTROLLER SUBSEQUENTLY CLEARED THE PILOT FOR TAKEOFF AND INSTRUCTED HIM TO TURN RIGHT TO A HEADING OF 330 DEGREES AND MAINTAIN 2,000 FEET MSL AFTER DEPARTURE. THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE CLEARANCE. AFTER TAKEOFF, THE CONTROLLER INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO CONTACT DEPARTURE CONTROL; HOWEVER, NO FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS WERE RECEIVED FROM THE PILOT. AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THE PILOT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL, THE CONTROLLER INITIATED SEARCH AND RESCUE PROCEDURES. AUTOMATED DEPENDENT SURVEILLANCE BROADCAST (ADS-B) POSITION DATA INDICATED THAT THE TAKEOFF BEGAN ABOUT 2256:47 (HHMM:SS). THE DATA DEPICTED THE AIRPLANE ENTERING A RIGHT TURN SHORTLY AFTER CROSSING THE RUNWAY DEPARTURE THRESHOLD. THE AIRPLANE BECAME ESTABLISHED ON A MAGNETIC COURSE OF 310 DEGREES AT ABOUT 2257:28. DURING THIS TIME, THE AIRPLANE REACHED AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 2,925 FEET MSL. ABOUT 5 SECONDS LATER, THE AIRPLANE ENTERED A DESCENDING RIGHT TURN THAT CONTINUED UNTIL THE FINAL DATA POINT. THE FINAL DATA POINT WAS RECORDED AT 2257:52 AND WAS LOCATED 1.83 MILES NORTHWEST OF BKL. THE ASSOCIATED ALTITUDE WAS 775 FEET MSL. THE RESULTING SEARCH AND RECOVERY EFFORT WAS HAMPERED BY WEATHER AND LAKE CONDITIONS. AIRPLANE DEBRIS, INCLUDING THE COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER, WAS ULTIMATELY LOCATED ABOUT 0.10 MILE NORTHEAST OF THE FINAL DATA POINT. THE COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER WAS TRANSFERRED TO THE NTSB RECORDERS LABORATORY FOR READOUT. A DETAILED WRECKAGE EXAMINATION WILL BE CONDUCTED ONCE RECOVERY OPERATIONS HAVE CONCLUDED. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) RECORDS INDICATED THAT THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE WAS A 2012 MODEL YEAR CESSNA 525C, SERIAL NUMBER 525C-0072. THE AIRPLANE WAS INITIALLY ISSUED A COMMUTER CATEGORY STANDARD AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATE IN JANUARY 2012. IT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY EXPORTED TO BRAZIL. THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINES HAD ACCUMULATED ABOUT 10 HOURS TOTAL TIME WHEN EXPORTED. THE AIRPLANE WAS IMPORTED TO THE UNITED STATES AND PURCHASED BY THE ACCIDENT OWNER IN OCTOBER 2016. THE AIRFRAME AND ENGINES HAD ACCUMULATED ABOUT 812 HOURS TOTAL TIME WHEN THE AIRPLANE WAS RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES. AVAILABLE RECORDS INDICATED THAT THE MOST RECENT MAINTENANCE ACTIVITY OCCURRED ON DECEMBER 17, 2016. AT THAT TIME THE AIRPLANE HAD ACCUMULATED 860 HOURS TOTAL TIME. FAA RECORDS REVEALED THAT THE ACCIDENT PILOT HELD A PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATE WITH AIRPLANE SINGLE AND MULTI-ENGINE LAND, ROTORCRAFT HELICOPTER, AND INSTRUMENT AIRPLANE CATEGORY/CLASS RATINGS. IN ADDITION, THE PILOT HELD CE-510S AND CE-525S TYPE RATINGS. THE PILOT'S CE-525S TYPE RATING WAS ADDED DECEMBER 8, 2016, AFTER HE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE PRESCRIBED FAA PRACTICAL TEST. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CEN17FA072](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17FA072), Dec 30, 2016: Cessna 525 (N614SB), Cleveland, OH, destroyed, 6 fatal. Probable cause: Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot spatial disorientation. Contributing to the accident was pilot fatigue, mode confusion related to the status of the autopilot, and negative learning… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.