Cessna 210L accident near Marco, Florida, August 5, 1989
On August 5, 1989 at about 7:00 am local time, a Cessna 210L, registered N2676S, was destroyed in an accident near Marco, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC), HIS MISJUDGMENT OF ALTITUDE AND HIS PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT FROM USE OF DRUGS. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE: THE PILOT'S PROBABLE SPATIAL DISORIENTATION, AND THE NIGHT/WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 5, 1989 · about 7:00 am local time
- Place
- Marco, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 210L · all 210Ls on the register
- Registration
- N2676S · no longer on the register · serial 21061349
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG AN ILLEGAL DRUG OPN AT NGT, THE ACFT CRASHED IN THE EVERGLADES, ABT 16 MI SE OF NAPLES, FL. SURVEILLANCE PSNL IN THEAREA SAID THE VIS WAS LESS THAN 1/2 MI WITH FOG/SMOKE. ABT 3 HRS EARLIER, THE NAPLES WX WAS, IN PART: SKY PARTLY OBSCD, VIS 3 MI, WND CALM. INV REVEALED THE ACFT IMPACTED IN A SLIGHT L WING DWN, NOSE LOW, ATTITUDE, THEN BOUNCED & HIT A TREEBFR COMING TO REST ABT 270' FM THE INITIAL IMPACT PT. NO PREIMPACT MECH PROBLEM WAS EVIDENT. IN 1978, THE PLT WAS DENIEDA 1ST CLASS MED CERT DUE TO HEART DISEASE, DETECTED BY AN ELECTROCARDIOGRAM. LTR, HE GOT A 3RD CLASS MED CERT (USING AN-OTHER NAME, DOB & SSN), WHICH DID NOT REQUIRE AN ELECTROCARDIOGRAM. HIS LAST MED CERT (USING AN ALIAS) WAS DATED 8/5/86.AN AUTOPSY SHOWED HE HAD ADVANCED HEART DISEASE. MED EXAMINER BELIEVED A MASSIVE MYOCARDIAL INFARCT OR INCAPACITATING CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA WAS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY, BUT NO DRCT EVIDENCE OF EITHER WAS FND. A TOX CHECK OF VITREOUS FLUID SHOWED COCAINE & BENZOYLECGONINE LVLS OF 1490 & 782 NG/ML. DRUG/ALCOHOL TESTS OF KIDNEY & LIVER SPECIMENS WERE NEGATIVE.
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; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental IO-520-L (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:47 am from APF, 16 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.