Cessna 150J N60517

Summary

On 4 December 1993 at about 01:45 local time, a Cessna 150J registered N60517 was involved in an accident near Delray Beach, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 December 1993 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Delray Beach, Florida, United States

Coordinates

26.4507, -80.0802

Aircraft

Cessna 150J

Registration

N60517

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Boca Rotan → Lantana

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

MIA94FA034

1 person died.

The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain altitude while maneuvering. This resulted in the pilot becoming spatially disoriented, and subsequent in-flight collision with the ocean. Contributing to the accident was the dark night with no visible horizon.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot leveled off at 500 feet agl, and was flying parallel to the shoreline at night. The pilot described the weather conditions as very dark, with no natural horizon, and the only visible light was located on the shoreline. The passenger stated, look how beautiful it is over there. The pilot looked at the shoreline, and felt something was wrong. The buildings looked closer than they should have been. He looked at the altimeter and noticed the airplane was descending through 200 feet. He pulled back on the control yoke and made a left turn. The airplane did not appear to climb. The pilot turned to the right and back to the left. The next thing he remembered was being under water trying to get to the surface.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.