- Date
- August 10, 1990, 15:38 local (19:38 UTC)
- Place
- Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean)
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N6946DPiper PA-22-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900810033099A
- Case key
- 32692
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. The airplane is missing.
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
The student pilot departed sebastian municipal airport, sebastian, Florida, enroute to freeport grand Bahamas, with 3 passengers. No flight plan was filed. VFR conditions prevailed. The airplane did not arrive at destination airport. A 2 day search was initiated by us coast guard, and terminated with negative sightings. A body was recovered by the us navy 9 days later, off the coast of Virginia, and identified by a medical examiner, from dental records, as a passenger from the missing airplane. No wreckage was sighted. The remaining personnel are missing and presumed dead. The cause of the accident is undetermined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6946D
- Reported as
- Piper PA-22-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22-4874
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Plasse, Edgar P.
- Registered owner
- Plasse, Edgar P
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 20, 1990 · 147 hours before
- Departed
- X-26 · Sebastian, FL
- Destination
- MYGF · Freeport, OF
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 500 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VRB
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N6946D · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.