Cessna 425 accident near Sanford, Florida, February 12, 1988
On February 12, 1988 at about 3:12 am local time, a Cessna 425, registered N6771Y, was destroyed in an accident near Sanford, Florida (Sanford airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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 12, 1988 · about 3:12 am local time
- Place
- Sanford, Florida · Sanford · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 425 · all 425s on the register
- Registration
- N6771Y · no longer on the register · serial 4250019
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLT WAS CLEARED FOR A NIGHT ILS APCH & ADVISED THAT TWR AT DEST HAD CLOSED. TWR HAD RPTD AT CLOSING THAT FOG WAS FORMING & THE FLT WAS ADVISED OF THE FOG. THE ACFT WAS LOCATED ON A REMOTE PART OF THE ARPT THE NEXT MORNING. THE ELT HAD ACTIVATED BUT THE SIGNAL WAS WEAK DUE TO CRASH DAMAGE. PAX SAID THEY NEVER SAW RWY LIGHTS, ONLY TAXI LIGHTS, & THAT PLT ATMPTD TO PERFORM A GO-AROUND. GEAR WAS RETRACTED & ACFT HIT LEVEL GRASSY AREA IN A NEAR LEVEL ATTITUDE. THE PLT WAS NOT WEARING A SHOULDER HARNESS. THE PAX CROUCHED IN THE AISLE NEXT TO THE PLT, HELPING HIM FIND THE RWY, NOT WEARING RESTRAINING BELTS. NO PUBLISHED APCH PLATE FOR ILS PROC FOR THAT RWY WAS FOUND IN ACFT. TOX REPORT REVEALED PLT HAD 3 MCG/ML DEXTROMETHORPHAN, AN INGREDIENT FOUND IN OVER COUNTER COLD REMEDIES. ACCORDING TO REPORT, LEVELS OF THAT SUBSTANCE IN BLOOD GREATER THAN 0.1 MCG/ML WAS SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE DROWINESS.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,750 hours in all; 35 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,269 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, January 29, 1988; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,800 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT-6A-112 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FTY Atlanta GA at 1:20 am
- Destination: SFB
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 290° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 am from ORL, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.