Cessna U206G incident near Key West, Florida, December 29, 1987
On December 29, 1987 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Cessna U206G, registered N4820R, suffered minor damage in an incident near Key West, Florida (Key West airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was 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
- December 29, 1987 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Key West, Florida · Key West · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206G · all U206Gs on the register
- Registration
- N4820R · no longer on the register · serial U20606809
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE WATER TAXIING NW FROM THE RAMP TO TAKEOFF WITH THE WIND FROM THE NORTH AT 22 KTS, THE RT WING LIFTED RESULTING IN THE LT FLOAT DIGGING INTO THE WATER. THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT THIS BY TURNING INTO THE WIND AND APPLYING FULL-UP RIGHT AILERON BUT WAS UNABLE. THE ACFT THEN ROLLED OVER AND CAME TO REST.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 7,870 hours in all; 410 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 7,651 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,356 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 8, 1987; 71 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520F (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Key West Seaplane Service, INC
The flight
- Destination: DTF Dry Tortugas Is FL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 22 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 8,000 ft; scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from EYW, 3 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.
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.