- Date
- May 26, 1989, 15:39 local (20:39 UTC)
- Place
- Niceville, FL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N80WBBryan Zenith CH-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 11, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890526012889A
- Case key
- 32292
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
Pilots incapacitation by a heart attack resulting in the airplane descending out of control and colliding with trees.
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
Pilot suffered heart attack shortly after departure resulting in his incapacitation. The airplane then descended out of control resulting in collision with trees and the fround.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80WB
- Reported as
- Bryan Zenith CH-300 (ZENITH CH-)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 3-499
- Airframe hours
- 975
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William M. Hilbun, III
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 25, 1989 · 1 hours before
- Airport
- FL17 · Ruckel, runway 18, 3,300 × 75 ft
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
- 60
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 9,350 total · 975 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VPS, 5 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.