ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 288203
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| Date: | Friday 13 August 2010 |
| Time: | 20:10 LT |
| Type: |  Cessna 172R |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N2435X |
| MSN: | 17280837 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2000 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4832 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming I0360-L2A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Key West, Florida -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Key West International Airport, FL (EYW/KEYW) |
| Key West International Airport, FL (EYW/KEYW) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The non-instrument rated pilot performed a touch-and-go practice takeoff and landing at an airport located on an island at night. Thereafter, the flight continued over water at a low altitude. A pilot of a commercial flight inbound to the island observed the accident airplane on his traffic collision and avoidance system (TCAS) and additionally noticed the reflection of its landing light on the water. When the reflection disappeared, the TCAS contact also disappeared, likely due to the airplane impacting the water. After rescue, the pilot could not recall much of the event, but did remark that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the moon's phase was waxing crescent with 18 percent of the disk illuminated. Federal Aviation Administration Advisory 60-4A states that, "The attitude of an aircraft is generally determined by reference to the natural horizon or other references on the surface. If neither horizon nor surface references exist, the attitude of an aircraft must be determined by artificial means from the flight instruments. ...Spatial disorientation to a pilot means simply the inability to tell which way is up....Lack of natural horizon or surface reference is common on over water flights, at night, and especially at night in extremely sparsely populated areas, or in low visibility conditions."
Probable Cause: The non-instrument-rated pilot's spatial disorientation during night, over-water, low-ambient-light conditions, which resulted in the airplane impacting the ocean.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ERA10LA421
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Oct-2022 19:34 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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