Cessna 185F accident near Key West, Florida, February 22, 1984
On February 22, 1984 at about 5:40 pm local time, a Cessna 185F, registered N4460R, was destroyed in an accident near Key West, Florida (Glf Of Mex.Seaplane Base airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 22, 1984 · about 5:40 pm local time
- Place
- Key West, Florida · Glf Of Mex.Seaplane Base · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 185F · all 185Fs on the register
- Registration
- N4460R · no longer on the register · serial 185-02962
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT LANDED AFTER A PREVIOUS FLT & WAS REFUELED & PREFLIGHT FOR ANOTHER MISSION. ACCORDING TO MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, THE ACFT FLOATS WERE DRAINED ONCE EVERY MORNING BEFORE THE 1ST FLT OF THE DAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDATIONS. THE PLT STATED THAT WHEN SHE WAS TAKING OFF FROM THE SEAPLANE BASE, THE FRONT RIGHT DOOR WINDOW BECAME OPEN & SHE LEANED TO THE RIGHT TO CHECK THAT THE DOOR WAS CLOSED & LOCKED. SHE CONTINUED THE TAKEOFF. WHEN THE ACFT BECAME AIRBORNE, SHE HAD TO HOLD AN ABNORMAL AMOUNT OF RIGHT AILERON TO HOLD THE WINGS LEVEL. AT THAT TIME, SHE NOTED THAT THE ACFT WAS NOT ACCELERATING & CLIMBING PROPERLY. THERE WERE HIGH TENSION WIRE AHEAD, SO SHE ELECTED TO ABORT. THE ACFT WAS BANKED TO THE LEFT & WAS LANDED HARD WHILE IN A LEFT WING LOW, FORWARD SLIP. THE FLOATS SEPARATED, & SUBSEQUENTLY, THE ACFT CAME TO REST IN ABOUT 4 FT OF SALT WATER. NO EVIDENCE OF A PREIMPACT FAILURE WAS FOUND EXCEPT THE LEFT FLOAT HAD 3 POPPED RIVETS & A QUANTITY OF 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
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,900 hours in all; 1,300 in this make and model; 36 in the last 90 days; 2,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,043 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 27, 1983; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,350 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental I0-520-D24 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SB Keywest FL at 4:39 pm
- Destination: SB Dry Tortuga FL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:45 pm from EYW, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 3 | 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.