Sukhoi SU-31 accident near Fort Lauderdale, FL
On April 30, 2004, a Sukhoi SU-31 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, FL. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- April 30, 2004
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Aircraft
- Sukhoi SU-31 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 26.147°N, 80.092°W
- NTSB ID
- 20040506X00565
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 30, 2004, at 1415 eastern daylight time, a Sukhoi SU-31, N31SU, registered to and operated by Green Side Up Aerobatics collided with water off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while rehearsing for an air show. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot was fatally injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The flight departed Pompano Beach, Florida, on April 30, at 1400. According to the show announcer, the pilot approached the show box and climbed to perform his first maneuver. The pilot performed the corkscrew maneuver that contained 56 consecutive snap rolls. After completing the snap rolls the pilot was excited at how many he had preformed. He then climbed to an approximate altitude of 5000 feet and informed the announcer that he was going to conduct a flat spin maneuver. According to the announcer the number rotations the pilot conducted seemed to exceed the normal amount the pilot had conducted in the pass. The spin maneuver continued until the airplane collided with the water. The airplane came to rest approximately 20 feet below the water surface and 1700 feet off the shoreline of Fort Lauderdale. No mechanical or flight control anomalies were reported by the pilot prior to the accident. The announcer has been announcing for the pilot for 3 years. PERSONNEL INFORMATION Review of the pilot's flight records revealed the pilot held a commercial certificate issued on January 24, 1992, with ratings for multie
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to recover from an intentional spin during an attempted aerobatic maneuver.
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Browse: Florida
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
