Piper PA-32R-301T accident near Fort Lauderdale, FL
On September 20, 2009, a Piper PA-32R-301T (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, FL. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- September 20, 2009
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-301T · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 26.326°N, 80.596°W
- NTSB ID
- 20090921X75928
Official records · ERA09FA526
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Transcript of Radio Communications-ATC transcript FA526 excerpts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On September 20, 2009, at about 1750 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-301T, N2467Y, registered to Bull Gator Air, Incorporated, operating as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight, crashed in the Florida Everglades, 22 miles east of the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The certificated private pilot and three passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight originated at Gainesville Regional Airport, Gainesville (GNV) Florida, at 1613. Review of transcripts of communications provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed that the pilot contacted the FAA Miami (MIA) approach control at 1740. At 1745:47, the pilot issued a "mayday" call and reported a "fire in the engine." The controller then asked, "are you going to try and make it to executive airport -that's the closest to you sir." Radar data revealed that at the time, the airplane was on an assigned heading of 110 degrees, at an altitude of 3,800 feet above mean sea level (msl). The airplane subsequently continued on its assigned heading, but a 300-foot descent was noted. The airplanes flight track showed that the airplane was flying over the everglades marshland area during the flight. At the time there were no roads in the vicinity. At 1746:01, the pilot responded that he had "smoke in the cockpit and we're trying to get to the nearest airport." The controller informed the pilot that "Pahokee Airport" [Palm Beach Cou
Probable cause
Fatigue failure of the No. 5 engine cylinder fuel supply line, which resulted in an engine compartment fire. Also causal was the pilot's failure to immediately secure the engine/perform a forced landing after discovery of the fire, which resulted in the pilot's loss of control of the airplane.
More accidents in FL
- Grumman G-73T, Dec 19, 2005
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Browse: Florida · Piper 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.
