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NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 150F · Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean) · June 8, 2012

Accident · FatalMissing aircraftFinal report
Date
June 8, 2012, 17:10 local (21:10 UTC)
Place
Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean)
Injuries
1 fatal
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Unknown
Aircraft
N8281SCessna 150F
Defining event
Unknown: Unknown or undetermined
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report November 26, 2012
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Eastern Region Aviation
Parties
FAA/FSDO
Case key
83989

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Probable cause

Undetermined (airplane and pilot missing).

Findings · 1

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Not determinedNot determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determinedCessna 150F: 6 casesAll aircraft: 2,247 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

After taking off from an airport in Pennsylvania, the airplane flew an easterly heading for 172 nautical miles until radar contact was lost over the Atlantic Ocean. A family member reported the airplane missing the following morning, and a Federal Aviation Administration Alert Notice (ALNOT) was issued at that time. A search was conducted by the Civil Air Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard, but the airplane was not located. At the time of this writing, the location of the airplane and the condition of the pilot are not known.

Factual narrative

On June 8, 2012, a Cessna 150F, N8281S, did not return to the departure airport, is missing and presumed to be substantially damaged. Weather conditions were unknown, and no flight plan was filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, personal flight which departed from Flying M Aerodrome (P91), Germansville, Pennsylvania about 1505 eastern daylight time. The certificated private pilot is missing and presumed to be fatally injured. On June 9, 2012, approximately 0800, a family member reported the airplane missing. A Federal Aviation Administration Alert Notice (ALNOT) was issued at that time. A search was conducted by the Civil Air Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard, and the airplane was not located. The search was called off and the ALNOT was cancelled on June 13, 2012, around 1400. According to recorded radar data provided by the Civil Air Patrol, after departure, the airplane flew an easterly heading for 172 nautical miles until radar contact was lost over the Atlantic Ocean at 1710. A search for the airplane was initiated by the United States Coast Guard in areas off the New Jersey coast, but neither the airplane nor debris was located. The pilot, age 77, held a private pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land and glider. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration third-class medical certificate was issued on May 12, 2011. According to his logbook, he had accumulated 758.9 total hours of flight time, of which, 2.1 hours were in the past 90 days. The airplane was manufactured in 1965. The most recent annual inspection was performed on June 30, 2011. At the time of the airplane's disappearance the airplane and engine had accumulated approximately 2,402.6 total hours.

Aircraft

Registration
N8281S
Reported as
Cessna 150F
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15061881
Airframe hours
2,392
Engine
Cont Motor O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Utility
Last inspection
Annual · June 30, 2011 · 11 hours before
Departed
P91 · Germansville, PA
Destination
Unknown

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
77
Injuries
Fatal
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 3, With waivers/limitations
Last flight review
April 26, 2011
Flight hours
758 total · 2 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
205° at 6 knots, gusting 7
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
64 °F, dew point 61 °F
Altimeter
29.85 inHg
Observed at
LLNR

Docket · 10

The files NTSB released with the investigation on October 5, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 14.4 MB in all.