Cessna 305A accident near Sugar Loaf Key, Florida, March 14, 1985
On March 14, 1985 at about 6:05 pm local time, a Cessna 305A, registered N5291G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sugar Loaf Key, Florida (Sugarload Shores airport). It was an other work-use flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- March 14, 1985 · about 6:05 pm local time
- Place
- Sugar Loaf Key, Florida · Sugarload Shores
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 305A · all 305As on the register
- Registration
- N5291G · registry record · serial 23413
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Other work-use flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ENGINE FAILED JUST AFTER TAKEOFF AND THE ACFT LANDED IN A FIELD NORTH OF THE ARPT, COLLIDED WITH TREES AND NOSED OVER. POST ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE FUEL SYSTEM SHOWS THAT THE ACFT MICRON FUEL FILTER WAS CONTAMINATED TO THE EXTENT THAT IT CAUSED INSUFFICIENT FUEL FLOW, RESULTING IN THE ENGINE FAILURE AT THE SUSTAINED TAKEOFF POWER SETTING.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 8,071 hours in all; 1,004 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 7,500 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,862 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 6, 1984
- Maximum gross weight: 2,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-470 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 7X1 Sugarloaf Key FL at 6:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0, 2,700 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:00 pm from TMB, 85 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.
Other NTSB records under N5291G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.