Cessna U206F accident near West Point, New York, August 29, 1989
On August 29, 1989 at about 2:53 am local time, a Cessna U206F, registered N8559Q, was destroyed in an accident near West Point, New York. It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
CONTINUED VFR FLIGHT BY THE PILOT INTO AN AREA OF MARGINAL VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT ALTITUDE OVER MOUNTAINOUS/HILLY TERRAIN. FACTORS RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE: DARK NIGHT, HIGH TERRAIN, LOW CLOUDS/CEILING, RAIN, AND TREES.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 29, 1989 · about 2:53 am local time
- Place
- West Point, New York · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Cessna U206F · all U206Fs on the register
- Registration
- N8559Q · registry record · serial U20603415
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT WAS REPOSITIONING THE ACFT AT NGT TO HIS HOME ARPT AT KINGSTON. HE RCVD VFR ADVISORIES FM NEW YORK TRACON FOR ROUTING TO TETERBORO & TO CONT NORTH BELOW THE TCA, ALONG THE HUDSON RIVER TO KINGSTON. THE ATC CTLR ISSUED A CLNC AS REQUESTED, PROVIDED WX INFO & TOLD THE PLT TO MAINT 2500'. MINUTES LATER, THE PLT REQUESTED A LOWER ALT & WAS APPROVED FOR FLT THRU THE TETERBORO ARPT TFC AREA. HE RPRTD 'THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE IN SIGHT' & SAID HE NO LONGER NEEDED RADAR SVC. AT 2222 EDT, RADAR SVC WAS TERMINATED 2 MI EAST OF TETERBORO & THERE WAS NO FURTHER RADIO CTC WITH THE ACFT. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT HIT TREES & CRASHED NEAR A HILLTOP, WHILE HDG SW OVER AN ARTILLERY RANGE ON THE WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT AFTER RADAR SVC WAS TERMINATED, THE ACFT CONTD NORTH BTN 1800' & 1200' MSL UNTIL RADAR CTC WAS LOST APRX 3 MI SOUTH OF THE ARTILLERY RANGE. A WITNESS (2 MI SOUTH OF THE CRASH SITE) SAW AN ACFT CIRCLING AT LOW ALT BEFORE CONTINUING NORTH. SHE SAID CONDS WERE RAINY, CLOUDY & VERY DARK. NO PREIMPACT MECH PROBLEMS WERE FOUND.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 9,500 hours in all; 188 in the last 90 days; 123 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,917 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 28, 1989; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,300 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental IO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: PNE Philadelphia PA
- Destination: 20N Kingston NY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 130° at 8 knots
- Sky: overcast; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 am from POU, 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.