Commander 114-B N60204

Summary

On 31 March 2005 at about 02:35 local time, a Commander 114-B registered N60204 was involved in an accident near Venice, Florida, 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

31 March 2005 at 02:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Venice, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Venice Municipal (VNC)

Coordinates

27.0619, -82.4633

Aircraft

Commander 114-B

Registration

N60204

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Venice → Sarasota

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA05FA085

2 people died.

The pilot's in-flight loss of control during takeoff/initial climb over the water at night due to spatial disorientation. A related factor was the night conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico, southwest of the departure end of runway 22, at the Venice Municipal Airport, Venice, Florida, in night visual meteorological conditions. During initial climb as the airplane took off and flew over the water, several witnesses were in the vicinity of a pier near a restaurant. The witnesses said they could hear the engine operating overhead, and that the airplane banked, and descended rapidly impacting the water with the engine operating. One of the witness on the pier at the restaurant stated that when the airplane was taking off from the departure end of runway 22, the sound of the engine drew his attention. He said that the engine was "sputtering, popping, and missing," and momentarily went to full power just prior to the airplane impacting the water. Sections of the airplane were later recovered, to include a section from the baggage compartment aft to the tail, the left and right horizontal stabilizer, the rudder, the right spar, the fuselage cabin belly along with the instrument panel, engine and propeller, and the right wing bladder. All sections of the airplane had incurred damage consistent with the impact and with salvage efforts, and when examined, no evidence of preaccident anomalies were noted. The pilot possessed an FAA private pilot certificate, with an airplane single-engine land rating, and according to his logbooks he had accumulated about 258.1 hours total time, 122.9 hours as pilot-in-command, 50.1 hours of simulated instrument total time, and 5.7 hours of night flight experience. A flight instructor with whom the pilot had recently trained revealed that the pilot had accumulated an additional 34.4 hours instrument flight training not recorded in his logbook. FAA records did not show that the pilot possessed an instrument rating.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.