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ATL92FA107 · Maule M-5-210C

23 May 1992 · Wetumpka, AL, United States

Maule M-5-210C · Accident: in flight collision with object en route

From Wetumpka, AL (no airport) to No airport

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Event

NTSB case
ATL92FA107
Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
Completed
API-reported fatalities
1 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
0
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
General aviation
WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
Visual Meteorological Cond

Maule M-5-210C

Aircraft type
Maule M-5
Category
Airplane
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
N62047
Operator
Colquitt, Robert T. · private individual
Onboard fatalities
Unknown
Route
From Wetumpka, AL (no airport)To No airport
Aircraft age
Not recorded
Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
Part 91: General Aviation
Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
En route · cruise
First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
In flight collision with object
Also codedOther events the NTSB coded in the sequence, such as a wire strike after a loss of power. Flight Findings uses them for its kinds of event. Glossary
Wire, transmission
DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
Substantial

Cause areas

  • Pilot in command › Clearance, not maintained
  • Pilot in command › Visual lookout, inadequate

Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.

NTSB narrative

THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS ON LOCAL, PLEASURE FLIGHT WITH A PASSENGER. THE PASSENGER REPORTED THAT WHILE CRUISING OVER A LAKE, THE PILOT JERKED THE AIRPLANE UP SHARPLY, THE WHEELS HUNG ON A POWER LINE, AND THE AIRCRAFT NOSED OVER INTO THE LAKE. THIS ACCOUNT WAS CONFIRMED BY WITNESSES ON THE NEARBY SHORE. THE PILOT WAS KILLED IN THE ACCIDENT, THE PASSENGER WAS RESCUED BY ONLOOKERS. THE AIRCRAFT SANK IN ABOUT 75 FEET OF WATER. INSPECTION OF THE WRECKAGE FAILED TO DISCLOSE ANY EVIDENCE OF PRE-EXISITNG MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE. THERE WAS IMPACT DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT, MAIN LANDING GEAR STRUT INDICATIVE OF BRAIDED METAL CABLE CONTACT. THIS WAS THE PASSENGER'S FIRST FLIGHT IN AN AIRPLANE.

Probable cause

THE PILOT'S INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT, AND HIS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN PROPER CLEARANCE FROM THE TRANSMISSION WIRES.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset

Sources

NTSB record ATL92FA107
Event ID
20001211X14558
Case number
ATL92FA107
Dataset
historical-pre2008
Source SHA-256
89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
  • Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
  • Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
  • The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
  • API snapshot SHA-256: a02caabbbd47ae85da48bb18e346d21d2e2531ce097242d0e0f2040181487724; retrieved 2026-09-21T01:11:09.771Z.