Cessna U206 accident near Hopedale, Louisiana, August 18, 2019
On August 18, 2019 at about 6:30 pm local time, a 1975 Cessna U206, registered N5364Q, was destroyed in an accident during enroute near Hopedale, Louisiana. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), resulting from the pilot’s failure to maintain proper altitude and continued flight into instrument meteorological conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 2019 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hopedale, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206 F, built 1975 · all U206s on the register
- Registration
- N5364Q · no longer on the register · serial U20603063
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot and 2 passengers were returning from a fishing trip in the float equipped airplane. The flight path was over water. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed along the flight path and accident area. Both passengers reported that the airplane was flying low over the water beneath the clouds when it impacted the water. Only portions of the airplane wreckage were recovered, and the engine was not found. The available wreckage was examined, and no anomalies were found other than severe water impact damage. It is likely that the non-instrument rated pilot did not have a visible horizon, lost track of his altitude and descended below the clouds when the airplane impacted the water.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) during enroute defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › (general) › (general) › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Low ceiling › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 950 hours in all; 450 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,881 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 10, 2019; 369 hours since
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Ultra Light Flights LLC
The flight
- Departed from: N Chandeleur KY at 6:00 pm
- Destination: Barataria LA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: broken clouds at 500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
6 documents, released by the NTSB on March 8, 2022. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memorandum for the Record Information of Pilot Flying N7896S CEN19FA271 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 2 | Memorandum for the Record Flight Path and Weather Images Over Accident Area CEN19FA270 | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Memorandum for the Record Passenger C Skerlock Statement Summary CEN19FA271 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Memorandum for the Record Passenger T Skerlock Statement Summary CEN19FA271 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | Toxicology Report CEN19FA271 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 6 | Wreckage Examination Summary CEN19FA271 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N5364Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.