Piper PA32R accident near Venice, FL
On April 6, 2023, a Piper PA32R (airplane) was involved in an accident near Venice, FL. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 6, 2023
- Place
- Venice, FL
- Aircraft
- Piper PA32R · Airplane
- Injuries
- 4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 27.067°N, 82.461°W
- NTSB ID
- 20230406107016
Official records · ERA23FA181
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn April 5, 2023, at 2137 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-300, N635BD, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Venice, Florida. The commercial pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight. Earlier on the day of the accident, the airplane departed Albert Whitted Airport (SPG), St. Petersburg, Florida, and flew to Venice Municipal Airport (VNC), Venice, Florida. The accident occurred during the climb out from runway 23 on the return flight to SPG while the airplane was operating under night visual flight rules. About 1540, a friend of the pilot received a text message that the pilot was flying with friends to VNC for dinner and would probably arrive between 1740 and 1800 hours. After they arrived, he picked them up in his vehicle, and he, the pilot, and the three passengers went to dinner. The pilot did not drink any alcohol. About 2050, he retrieved his vehicle from parking and picked up the pilot and his three passengers at the entrance to the restaurant and drove them back to the airport. He then watched the pilot and front-seat passenger conduct a preflight inspection of the airplane, checking the leading edges, vertical and horizontal surfaces, landing gear, propeller, and oil quantity, and also look inside the cowling. The pilot’s friend estimated that the preflight took about 10 minutes. He became concerned as he saw the pilot and front-seat passenger use their iPhones to light and inspect the right-wing flap nearest the fuselage.
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to initiate a visual flight rules flight into dark night conditions, which resulted in spatial disorientation during the initial climb and subsequent steep banking descent into water.
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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.
