Rockwell 114A accident near New Smyrna Bch, Florida, December 13, 1998
On December 13, 1998 at about 7:10 pm local time, a Rockwell 114A, registered N5913N, was destroyed in an accident near New Smyrna Bch, Florida (New Symrna Beach Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots failure to maintain adequate altitude clearance with the terrain during final approach, and the subsequent collision with high vegetation and a road sign.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 13, 1998 · about 7:10 pm local time
- Place
- New Smyrna Bch, Florida · New Symrna Beach Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Rockwell 114A
- Registration
- N5913N · no longer on the register · serial 14530
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was performing touch and go landings to runway 29 with the winds reported to be 210 degrees at 6 knots, gusting to 13 knots. Observers stated that the aircraft was low and collided with scrub brush and a road sign outside the airport boundary, dug a left wing tip in the dirt, and commenced a cartwheel onto the airport and burned.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 130 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 100 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,166 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,160 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-T4B5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: EVB at 6:10 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 29, 4,300 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 6 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,600 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:07 pm from DAB, 10 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.