14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, September 23, 2012 in
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/09/2013
Aircraft: CESSNA 172B, registration: N8059X
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot had been experiencing difficulties in his personal life and had joked with a clergyman about 2 days before the accident that he should, “just fly his plane into the ocean.” The pilot was subsequently reported missing. The investigation revealed that he arrived at the airport where his airplane was kept about 2 o’clock in the morning the day of the accident. Radar data showed that a primary radar target departed the airport vicinity about 45 minutes later and flew east. After a brief period of maneuvering over the open ocean about 21 nautical miles from shore, radar contact with the target was lost. A portion of airplane wreckage was recovered from the ocean later that day by a commercial diving vessel and was subsequently identified as being of the same make, model, and vintage as the accident airplane. No further wreckage was recovered, nor were the remains of the pilot. A hand-written suicide note was found inside the pilot’s vehicle, which was parked in the airplane’s hangar.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s suicidal act.
On September 23, 2012, about 0430 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172B, N8059X, was substantially damaged following impact with the Atlantic Ocean. The certificated commercial pilot was not found and presumed fatally injured. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed from Herlong Recreational Airport (HEG), Jacksonville, Florida, about 0242. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to information provided by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the pilot was reported missing by a clergyman on September 25, 2012. According to the clergyman, he had last spoken with the pilot about two days before the accident flight, and during the conversation the pilot confided difficulties he was undergoing in his personal life. The pilot also joked during the conversation, “I should just fly my plane into the ocean.” During a subsequent investigation by the Sheriff’s Office it was revealed that the pilot’s airplane was also missing, and his vehicle was parked in the airplane’s hangar at HEG. Review of electronic access records at showed that the pilot last entered the airport on September 23 at 0204. Additionally, upon searching the pilot’s vehicle, the officers discovered a hand-written suicide note that was dated September 23, 2012 at 0225.
Radar information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Jacksonville Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), showed a primary radar target with no associated transponder beacon departing the vicinity of HEG about 0242. The target tracked northeast over the city of Jacksonville, Florida, before it turned southeast bound and headed out over the Atlantic Ocean. About 22 nautical miles east of Saint Augustine, Florida, the target began tracking north. About 0422, the target began maneuvering until the final radar target was observed at 0429, about 21 nautical miles east of Mayport Naval Station (NRB), Mayport, Florida (30 degrees 23.219 minutes north by 81 degrees 0.378 minutes west).
Radar tracks recorded by three other radar facilities showed a similar primary radar target departing from HEG and terminating over the Atlantic Ocean within 20 seconds of the data recorded by Jacksonville TRACON.
About 1230, a commercial diving vessel recovered an approximate 4-foot by 4-foot section of aircraft debris at 30 degrees 22.764 minutes north by 80 degrees 59.140 minutes west, about 1.2 nautical miles southeast of the final recorded radar target. After receiving notification from the FAA regarding a missing aircraft on September 25, the US Coast Guard undertook a search for the pilot and the airplane in the vicinity of the last observed radar target and where the aircraft debris was recovered. The search subsequently ceased on September 26, and neither the pilot nor any additional wreckage was recovered.
Photographs of the recovered debris were forwarded to the airframe manufacturer and later identified as exhibiting features consistent with those of the inboard wing section and fuel tank of a model year 1961 Cessna 172B. Additionally, a placard allowing for the use of unleaded automotive gasoline was observed adjacent to the fuel filler port. Review of FAA airworthiness records for the accident airplane showed that a supplemental type certificate allowing for the use of unleaded automotive gasoline was filed in January 1988.
NTSB Identification: ERA12LA578
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, September 23, 2012 in
Aircraft: CESSNA 172B, registration: N8059X
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On September 23, 2012, about 0430 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172B, N8059X, was presumed substantially damaged following impact with the Atlantic Ocean. The certificated commercial pilot was not found and presumed fatally injured. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed from Herlong Recreational Airport (HEG), Jacksonville, Florida, about 0242. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
According to information provided by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the pilot was reported missing on September 25, 2012, and during a subsequent investigation it was revealed that the pilot’s airplane was also missing, and his car was parked in the airplane’s hangar. Review of electronic access records at HEG showed that the pilot last entered the airport on September 23 at 0204.
Review of preliminary air traffic control information provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), showed a radar target with a 1200 transponder code departing the vicinity of HEG about 0242. The target tracked roughly eastbound, before it crossed the shoreline and proceeded southeast over the Atlantic Ocean. The target began tracking north before the final radar target was observed at 0429, about 21 nautical miles east of Mayport Naval Station (NRB), Mayport, Florida. The position of the last radar target was 30 degrees 23.219 minutes north by 81 degrees 0.378 minutes west.
Later that day, about 1230, a commercial diving vessel recovered an approximate 4-foot by 4-foot section of aircraft debris at 30 degrees 22.764 minutes north by 80 degrees 59.140 minutes west. After receiving notification from the FAA regarding a missing aircraft on September 25, the US Coast Guard undertook a search for the pilot and the airplane in the vicinity of the last observed radar target and where the aircraft debris was recovered. The search subsequently ceased on September 26, and neither the pilot nor any additional wreckage was recovered.
Photographs of the recovered debris were forwarded to the airframe manufacturer and later identified as exhibiting features consistent with those of the inboard wing section and fuel tank of a Cessna 172B. Additionally, a placard allowing for the use of unleaded automotive gasoline was observed adjacent to the fuel filler port. Review of FAA airworthiness records for the accident airplane showed that a supplemental type certificate allowing for the use of unleaded automotive gasoline was filed in January 1988.
Gene Milowicki
(Courtesy of FSCJ)
Charter boat Capt. Dan Lindley told Channel 4 he was out Sunday
afternoon on a dive charter when they spotted the aircraft wreckage 12
to 15 miles offshore. He said he hauled a pieces of the fuselage and
other parts of the plane onto his boat.
Provided by Guy Gautreaux -This four-foot chunk of a plane's wing was brought aboard a dive charter off the coast of Jacksonville Sunday.
~
Photo by Capt. Dan Lindley
Charter boat spots aircraft wreckage in ocean
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police are investigating a missing man who is believed to have flown his airplane into the ocean.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Officers were called to Herlong Airport on Tuesday when a man was trying to locate his friend Gene Milowicki. The man told police he believed Milowicki flew his plane into the ocean, according to a release from JSO Public Information Officer Melissa Bujeda.
Police found Milowicki's vehicle in the hangar, but not the plane. A suicide note dated Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 2:25 a.m. was found on the passenger's seat of Milowicki's vehicle.
Police also confirmed that Milowicki did indeed enter Herlong Airport at 2:04 a.m. through the east gate ramp.
Michael Corby of Florida State College at Jacksonville confirmed that Milowicki was employed at the school. The school's website lists him as FSCJ's Director of Aviation Programs.
According to Duval County Clerk of Courts records, Milowicki was arrested after he violated an injunction for protection against domestic violence on August 20.
His wife filed for divorce the next day, August 21. Milowicki then filed a counter petition on September 17.
Since Sunday, a fisherman found some airplane parts along St. Augustine, but Bujeda said no human remains have been found. The Federal Aviation Administration said a wing of a plane was found near Fernandina Beach and that the U.S. Coast Guard is searching 32 miles from the entrance of the St. Johns River into the ocean.
The Coast Guard will regroup at 12:30 to decide whether to continue with the search.
Police are working with the Coast Guard and the FAA on this case to determine if the airplane parts belong to Milowicki's plane. No foul play is suspected, Bujeda said.
Authorities are continuing to search for a missing suicidal Jacksonville pilot after a dive charter found a piece of a small plane’s wing off the Mayport coast Sunday.
Investigators are trying to determine if the 4-foot piece found 20 miles off the coast matches that of a plane belonging Gene Milowicki, the estranged husband of a Jacksonville police officer and former director of Aviation Programs for Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Milowicki, 48, took off from Herlong Airport in his four-seat Cessna 172 about 2 a.m. Sunday morning, the Sheriff’s Office said. An acquaintance told police Tuesday that Milowicki was missing and may have flown into the ocean.
Police found the plane missing from the small airport off Normandy Boulevard and a suicide note in Milowicki’s vehicle. The Sheriff’s Office said no foul play is suspected in Milowicki’s disappearance.
Guy Gautreaux said he was among 15 people on a dive charter returning to Jacksonville about 2 p.m. Sunday when they spotted a piece of white metal floating in the ocean and hoisted it aboard.
“We went to flip it over and fuel started spilling out,” said Gautreaux, 34.
The U.S. Coast Guard was notified but had no reports of missing planes in the area and did not conduct a search, said Jessica Potter, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
The Coast Guard began searching the ocean by sea and air Tuesday after being told about the missing pilot, Potter said. The search for more debris and any human remains continued Wednesday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration learned about the found plane part Tuesday night, said FAA spokesman Jim Peters. The National Transportation Safety Board will try to determine whether the wing matches Milowicki’s plane.
Court records show Milowicki’s wife filed for divorce last month and he filed a counter petition last week. Police arrested Milowicki last month and charged him with violating an injunction for protection. A judge granted the petition to his wife of 14 years after he threatened to harm her and himself, records show.
Milowicki spent 24 years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a commander, according to an FSCJ autobiographical video. He identified himself as the director of aviation programs at the college’s Aviation Center of Excellence at Cecil Field, where he once flew Navy planes.
An FSCJ spokesman said he planned to give the Times-Union with information about Milowicki this afternoon.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Police say a man reported missing Tuesday may have crashed his small plane into the ocean miles off the coast of Mayport.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says Gene Milowicki's car was found at Herlong Airport with a suicide note on the passenger seat and his small plane was missing from its hanger. Airport records show Milowicki entered the airport at 2:04 a.m.
Charter boat Capt. Dan Lindley told Channel 4 he was out Sunday afternoon on a dive charter when they spotted the aircraft wreckage 12 to 15 miles offshore. He said he hauled a pices of the fuselage and other parts of the plane onto his boat.
"Capt. Dan Lindley photo of aircraft wreckage You could tell it was fresh wreckage; no grass or barnacles," Lindley said.
Lindley said police came Tuesday night and picked up the debris. Police said investigators are trying to determine if the parts match Milowicki's aircraft. Police are working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the United States Coast Guard on the case, and no foul play is suspected.
