Cessna 402C incident near W.Palm Beach, Florida, February 19, 1985
On February 19, 1985 at about 1:50 am local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N6789X, was involved in an incident near W.Palm Beach, Florida (W. Palm International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 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 incident. 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 19, 1985 · about 1:50 am local time
- Place
- W.Palm Beach, Florida · W. Palm International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N6789X · no longer on the register · serial 402CO440
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE DESCENDING FOR LANDING PASSENGERS NOTICED PILOT HAD SLUMPED OVER IN HIS SEAT AND WAS UNCONSCIOUS. THE PILOT WAS REVIVED AFTER APPROXIMATELY TWO MINUTES AND LANDED THE AIRCRAFT WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE PILOT SUBMITTED HIMSELF FOR MEDICAL EXAMINATION AFTER THE INCIDENT, BUT NO MEDICAL REASON FOR THE LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS COULD BE DETERMINED. THE PILOT DID STATE HE HAD BEEN SUFFERING FLU SYPTOMS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,800 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 258 in the last 90 days; 5,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,845 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 17, 1985; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Gull Air
The flight
- Departed from: MYGF Freeport OF at 1:30 am
- Destination: PBI West Palm Bch FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 080° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:48 am from PBI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.