Cessna 172B accident near Atlantic Ocean, AO, September 23, 2012
On September 23, 2012 at about 8:30 am local time, a Cessna 172B, registered N8059X, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering near Atlantic Ocean, AO. It was a personal 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 pilot’s suicidal act.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 23, 2012 · about 8:30 am local time
- Place
- Atlantic Ocean, AO · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172B · all 172Bs on the register
- Registration
- N8059X · no longer on the register · serial 17248559
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had been experiencing difficulties in his personal life and had joked with a clergyman about 2 days before the accident that he should, “just fly his plane into the ocean.” The pilot was subsequently reported missing. The investigation revealed that he arrived at the airport where his airplane was kept about 2 o’clock in the morning the day of the accident. Radar data showed that a primary radar target departed the airport vicinity about 45 minutes later and flew east. After a brief period of maneuvering over the open ocean about 21 nautical miles from shore, radar contact with the target was lost. A portion of airplane wreckage was recovered from the ocean later that day by a commercial diving vessel and was subsequently identified as being of the same make, model, and vintage as the accident airplane. No further wreckage was recovered, nor were the remains of the pilot. A hand-written suicide note was found inside the pilot’s vehicle, which was parked in the airplane’s hangar.
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 maneuvering defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Miscellaneous › Intentional act › Suicide › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 1,039 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: unk
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 2,250 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental Motors O-300 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HEG Jacksonville FL at 6:42 am
- Destination: Unknown
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 260° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.02 inHg
- Observation at 8:52 am from NRB, 21 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.