- Date
- July 12, 1987, 09:50 local (14:50 UTC)
- Place
- New Brighton, MN
- Injuries
- 5 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N5027ECessna 180
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 13, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19870712034119A
- Case key
- 13648
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Witnesses observed the floatplane start a climbing left turn shortly after becoming airborne from a water takeoff. The aircraft's right wing dropped and the aircraft dove into the water where it struck the surface right wing first, flipped inverted and sank. The aircraft came to rest submerged and suspended upside down from the floats which remained on the surface. All five occupants died by drowning in the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5027E
- Reported as
- Cessna 180
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 50327
- Airframe hours
- 2,813
- Engine
- Continental O-470-K, 235 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Herman Berhens
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 20, 1987 · 3 hours before
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 73
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,809 total · 7 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,300 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSP, 12 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.