Cessna 172 accident near Ocean City, MD
On March 1, 2018, a Cessna 172 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Ocean City, MD. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 1, 2018
- Place
- Ocean City, MD
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.288°N, 75.092°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180304X41553
Official records · ERA18LA094
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- ATC Accident Summary and Transcript of Radio Communications: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn February 28, 2018, about 1930 eastern standard time, a Cessna 172S, N615JA, was destroyed when it impacted the Atlantic Ocean about 2 miles east of Ocean City Municipal Airport (OXB), Ocean City, Maryland. The private pilot was fatally injured. The passenger was not located and was presumed fatally injured. The airplane was registered to Middle River Aviation and operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed Martin State Airport (MTN), Baltimore, Maryland, about 1753. According to information from MTN ground control, the pilot requested visual flight rules (VFR) flight following to OXB and departed from runway 15 at MTN. The pilot contacted the departure controller after takeoff and reported climbing past 1,600 ft mean sea level (msl). The controller identified the airplane 3 miles southeast of MTN and instructed the pilot to proceed on course below the Class B airspace and to maintain VFR. At 1805, the pilot reported reaching his cruise altitude of 3,500 ft and was issued the current altimeter setting. A review of radar track data showed the airplane approaching OXB from the northwest at an altitude around 3,500 ft msl before beginning a slow descent about 15 nautical miles (nm) northwest of OXB. The airplane continued its descent, and radar service was terminated about 3 nm northwest of OXB at an altitude of 1,350 ft msl. The airplane was reported missing the following morning, and a search was initiated. About 103
Probable cause
The pilot's flight in dark night visual meteorological conditions, which resulted in an impact with water for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.
More accidents in MD
- Aerospatiale SA365N-1 D, Sep 28, 2008
- Robinson Helicopter R44, Jul 24, 2009
- Cessna 172P, Mar 16, 2002
- Beech B24R, Apr 23, 1994
- Piper PA-28R-201T, Jul 31, 1989
Browse: Maryland · Cessna aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
