Accident Details
On September 23, 2012, about 0430 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172B, registration N8059X, was substantially damaged after impacting 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 personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight departed from Herlong Recreational Airport (HEG) in Jacksonville, Florida, about 0242.
Pilot's Disappearance
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the pilot was reported missing by a clergyman on September 25, 2012. The clergyman stated he last spoke with the pilot about two days before the accident flight, during which the pilot confided difficulties in his personal life and joked, "I should just fly my plane into the ocean." Investigation revealed the pilot's airplane was missing, and his vehicle was parked in the airplane's hangar at HEG. Electronic access records showed the pilot last entered the airport on September 23 at 0204. A hand-written suicide note dated September 23, 2012, at 0225 was discovered in the vehicle.
Radar Track
Radar information from FAA's Jacksonville TRACON showed a primary radar target (no transponder beacon) departing HEG about 0242. The target tracked northeast over Jacksonville, then turned southeast over the Atlantic Ocean. About 22 nautical miles east of Saint Augustine, Florida, it turned north. From about 0422, the target maneuvered until the final radar target was observed at 0429, about 21 nautical miles east of Mayport Naval Station (NRB), Mayport, Florida (30°23.219'N, 81°0.378'W). Radar tracks from three other facilities showed a similar primary target departing HEG and terminating over the Atlantic within 20 seconds of the Jacksonville TRACON data.
Search and Debris Recovery
About 1230 on September 23, a commercial diving vessel recovered an approximate 4-foot by 4-foot section of aircraft debris at 30°22.764'N, 80°59.140'W, about 1.2 nautical miles southeast of the final radar target. After FAA notification on September 25, the US Coast Guard searched the vicinity of the last radar target and debris recovery. The search ceased on September 26; neither the pilot nor additional wreckage was recovered. Photographs of the debris were forwarded to the airframe manufacturer and identified as consistent with the inboard wing section and fuel tank of a 1961 Cessna 172B. A placard allowing unleaded automotive gasoline was observed adjacent to the fuel filler port; FAA records showed a supplemental type certificate for such fuel was filed in January 1988.