Cessna 402C accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, September 23, 1985
On September 23, 1985 at about 4:42 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N402V, was destroyed in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. 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
- September 23, 1985 · about 4:42 pm local time
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N402V · registry record · serial 402C0337
- 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
PILOT DITCHED AIRCRAFT IN ATLANTIC OCEAN AFTER LOSING POWER IN BOTH ENGINES. THE THREE OCCUPANTS ESCAPED ININJURIED AND WERE PICKED UP BY A NEARBY BOAT. THE AIRCRAFT SANK IN APPROXIMATELY 800 FEET OF WATER ABOUT 5 MINUTES AFTER DITCHING. POST ACCIDENT INSPECTION OF OPERATOR RECORDS ALONG WITH A STATEMENT FROM THE PREVIOUS PILOT WHO FLEW THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT APPROXIMATELY 26 POUNDS OF FUEL REMAINED ON BOARD THE AIRCRAFT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY REPRESENTATIVE STATED THAT THE CESSNA 402C AIRCRAFT HAS AN UNUSABLE FUEL CAPACITY OF 44.4 POUNDS IN CRITICAL FLIGHT ATTITUDES AND THAT THIS FIGURE IS LOWER IN MORE NORMAL ATTITUDES.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,435 hours in all; 3,100 in this make and model; 132 in the last 90 days; 6,328 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,338 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 21, 1985; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,850 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Gull Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MYGF Freeport OF at 4:10 pm
- Destination: FLL Ft. Lauderdale FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:50 pm from FLL, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.