Cessna U206F accident near New Bedford, Massachusetts, November 6, 1987
On November 6, 1987 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Cessna U206F, registered N8384Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near New Bedford, Massachusetts. 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
- November 6, 1987 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- New Bedford, Massachusetts
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206F · all U206Fs on the register
- Registration
- N8384Q · no longer on the register · serial U2063245
- 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
THE CESSNA U206F WAS TAKING OFF FROM A HARBOR. AFTER BECOMING AIRBORNE IT EXPERIENCED A 40 KNOT AIRSPEED LOSS. THE PLT STATED THAT HE WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE AND WAS FORCED TO LAND ON A BEACH. THE ACFT FLIPPED OVR AFTER A PONTOON CAUGHT A ROCK. A WITNESS ON SHORE OBSERVED THE ACFT TKOF AND MAKE A LOW TURN DIRECTLY DOWNWIND. HE SAID THAT THE WIND WAS FROM THE NORTHEAST AT 20 TO 25 KTS AND GUSTY. THE NEW BEDFORD ATCT INDICATED THAT THE WINDS WERE GUSTING TO 35 KTS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,400 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 7,400 as pilot in command; 1,600 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,193 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520-F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: Cuttyhunk MA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 22 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 9°F (-13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:45 pm from EWB
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.
Other NTSB records under N8384Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.