Cessna 206 accident near Key West, Florida, March 27, 1985
On March 27, 1985 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 206, registered N4944U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Key West, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 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
- March 27, 1985 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Key West, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 206 · all 206s on the register
- Registration
- N4944U · no longer on the register · serial 420605172
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER THE ACFT DEPARTED THE SEAPLANE PARKING AREA, THE PLT NOTICED THAT THE LEFT FLOAT WAS TAKING ON WATER. HE INITIATED A TURN BACK TOWARDS THE RAMP AREA & APPLIED FULL POWER IN AN ATTEMPT TO REACH SHALLOWER WATER. AS HE APCHD THE PARKING AREA & WAS TURNING THE ACFT OUT OF THE WIND, A COMBINATION OF WIND, WAVE ACTION & FORWARD MOTION CAUSED THE LEFT FLOAT TO DIG IN. THE ACFT THEN NOSED OVER IN ABOUT 4 FT OF WATER. A POST-CRASH EXAM OF THE LEFT FLOAT REVEALED A 1-1/2 INCH TRANSVERSE SPLIT JUST FORWARD OF THE BULKHEAD IN THE LARGEST COMPARTMENT OF THE FLOAT WHICH ALLOWED IT TO TAKE ON 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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 9,600 hours in all; 1,503 in this make and model; 193 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,791 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 18, 1984; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Dry Tortugas at 4:00 pm
- Destination: EYW Key West FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:50 pm from EYW
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.