Cessna 182A accident near Foster City, Michigan, June 17, 2002
On June 17, 2002, a Cessna 182A, registered N5034D, was destroyed in an accident near Foster City, Michigan. It was an aerial observation flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The incapacitation of the pilot. A contributing factor was the pilot and medical examiner providing false information on the pilot's medical applications.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 17, 2002
- Place
- Foster City, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 182A · all 182As on the register
- Registration
- N5034D · no longer on the register · serial 51134
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial observation flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was reported missing and later found destroyed in a wooded area by search and rescue personnel. The wreckage path was consistent with a high-speed descent into terrain. Examination of the wreckage revealed no anomalies. The pilot had multiple serious medical conditions, several of which are specified as disqualifying for all classes of medical certificate in Federal Aviation Regulations including a thinned bulging section of heart wall, congestive heart failure, cardiac chest pain, coronary heart disease requiring angioplasty and bypass surgery complicated by atrial fibrillation and diabetes requiring insulin and oral hypoglycemic mediation. He also had significant disease of his heart valves. The pilot and his personal physician (also his Aviation Medical Examiner for many years) had not informed the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the pilot's conditions (known to the pilot and the Aviation Medical Examiner at the time of application), on seven applications for Airman Medical Certificates.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 2,650 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: IWD Ironwood MI at 7:15 pm
- Destination: Unknown
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 030° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.92 inHg
- Observation at 6:54 pm from IMT, 16 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
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.