MIA89FA214

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 210L · Marco, FL · August 5, 1989

Accident · FatalField investigationFinal report
Date
August 5, 1989, 03:00 local (07:00 UTC)
Place
Marco, FL
Injuries
1 fatal
Damage
Destroyed
Phase of flight
Unknown
Aircraft
N2676SCessna 210L
Weather
Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
Status
Completed · report December 10, 1990
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19890805031069A
Case key
32305

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

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Probable cause

Continued VFR flight by the pilot into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), his misjudgment of altitude and his physical impairment from use of drugs. Contributing factors were: the pilot's probable spatial disorientation, and the night/weather conditions.

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.

In flight encounter with weatherUnknown
Procedures/directives - not followedPilot in command
Light condition - dark nightFactor
Weather condition - fogFactor
Weather condition - haze/smokeFactor
Vfr flight into imc - continuedPilot in commandCause
In flight collision with terrain/waterManeuvering
Altitude - misjudgedPilot in commandCause
Spatial disorientationPilot in commandFactor
Impairment(drugs)Pilot in commandCause

Analysis

Drg an illegal drug opn at ngt, the acft crashed in the everglades, abt 16 mi se of naples, FL. Surveillance psnl in thearea said the vis was less than 1/2 mi with fog/smoke. Abt 3 hrs earlier, the naples wx was, in part: sky partly obscd, vis 3 mi, wnd calm. Inv revealed the acft impacted in a slight l wing dwn, nose low, attitude, then bounced & hit a treebfr coming to rest abt 270' fm the initial impact pt. No preimpact mech problem was evident. In 1978, the plt was denieda 1st class med cert due to heart disease, detected by an electrocardiogram. Ltr, he got a 3rd class med cert (using an-other name, dob & ssn), which did not require an electrocardiogram. His last med cert (using an alias) was dated 8/5/86.an autopsy showed he had advanced heart disease. Med examiner believed a massive myocardial infarct or incapacitating cardiac arrhythmia was a distinct possibility, but no drct evidence of either was fnd. A tox check of vitreous fluid showed cocaine & benzoylecgonine lvls of 1490 & 782 ng/ml. Drug/alcohol tests of kidney & liver specimens were negative.

Aircraft

Registration
N2676S
Reported as
Cessna 210L
Category
Airplane
Serial number
21061349
Engine
Continental IO-520-L, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Part 91
Operator
Robert S West Fall
Registered owner
Stc Aviation
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal

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
57
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 3, Expired
Seat
Left
Toxicology
Performed
Flight hours
10,000 total

Weather

Conditions
Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
Wind
Calm
Temperature
82 °F
Altimeter
29.00 inHg
Observed at
APF, 16 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.