Cessna TR182 N737PK

Summary

On 13 July 1997 at about 06:24 local time, a Cessna TR182 registered N737PK, operated by Century Air, Inc., was involved in an accident near Seaside Heights, New Jersey, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 July 1997 at 06:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Seaside Heights, New Jersey, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna TR182

Registration

N737PK

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Century Air, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Linden → Atlantic City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

NYC97FA144

2 people died.

failure of the pilot to maintain sufficient altitude/clearance above water, while maneuvering over the ocean during a dark moonless night. Related factors were: darkness, the pilot's probable illusion of altitude, spatial disorientation, and lack of instrument experience.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on a night cross-country flight. The airplane was observed on radar to climb to 2,500 feet and level off. When the airplane reached the coast line, it turned south, paralleled the coast, and began a descent. The airplane descended at 500 feet per minute, until it went below radar coverage at 1,000 feet, about 5 miles north of the accident area. Witnesses observed the airplane flying level, parallel to the coast, about 150 feet above the water, and fly over an amusement park pier. The airplane then turned left away from the coast to the open ocean, then it began another left turn to the north. During the northerly turn, it descended, struck the water, and sank about 1/2 mile off shore in the Atlantic Ocean, about 0230 EDT. The wreckage was not recovered. Nautical twilight was at 0426, and the moon was 20 degrees below the horizon. The pilot was not instrument rated, and 4 hours of dual night were documented on a 1 year old flight examination form.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.