Florida

While on a ferry flight from Sebastian to Palatka, the single engine airplane went out of control and crashed in a dense wooded area located in Codys Corner, Florida. The airplane was totally destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed.

While taking off from runway 32 at Buckingham Airport, the twin engine airplane went out of control, veered off runway to the left, lost its nose gear and left main gear and came to rest. Both crew members evacuated safely.

On February 9, 2024, about 1517 eastern standard time, a Bombardier Inc CL-600-2B16, N823KD, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Naples, Florida. The two airline transport pilots were fatally injured. The cabin attendant and the two passengers sustained minor injuries, and one person on the ground suffered minor injury. The airplane was operated by Ace Aviation Services (doing business as Hop-A-Jet) as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand passenger flight. The airplane was returning to Naples Municipal Airport (APF), Naples, Florida, from Ohio State University Airport (OSU), Columbus, Ohio, where it had flown earlier in the day. The airplane was serviced with 350 gallons of fuel before departure from OSU. Preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) flight track and air traffic control (ATC) data revealed that the flight crew contacted the ATC tower at APF while on a right downwind leg of the approach to the airport and maneuvering for a 5-mile final approach to runway 23. At 1508, the tower controller cleared the flight to land. The airplane was about 6.5 miles north of APF, about 2,000 ft geometric altitude (GEO) and 166 knots groundspeed, as it turned for the base leg of the traffic pattern. A preliminary review of the data recovered from the airplane’s flight data recorder revealed that the first of three Master Warnings was recorded at 1509:33 (L ENGINE OIL PRESSURE), the second immediately following at 1509:34 (R ENGINE OIL PRESSURE), and at 1509:40 (ENGINE). The system alerted pilots with illumination of a “Master Warning” light on the glareshield, a corresponding red message on the crew alerting system page and a triple chime voice advisory (“Engine oil”). Twenty seconds later, at 1510:05, about 1,000 ft msl and 122 kts, on a shallow intercept angle for the final approach course, the crew announced, “…lost both engines… emergency… making an emergency landing” (see figure 1). The tower controller acknowledged the call and cleared the airplane to land. At 1510:12, about 900 ft and 115 knots, the crew replied, “We are cleared to land but we are not going to make the runway… ah… we have lost both engines.” There were no further transmissions from the flight crew and the ADS-B track data ended at 1510:47, directly over Interstate 75 in Naples, Florida. Dashcam video submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board captured the final seconds of the flight. The airplane descended into the camera’s view in a shallow left turn and then leveled its wings before it touched down aligned with traffic travelling the southbound lanes of Interstate 75. The left main landing gear touched down first in the center of the three lanes, and then the right main landing gear touched down in the right lane. The airplane continued through the break-down lane and into the grass shoulder area before impacting a concrete sound barrier. The airplane was obscured by dust, fire, smoke, and debris until the video ended. This information is preliminary and subject to change. After the airplane came to rest, the cabin attendant stated that she identified that the cabin and emergency exits were blocked by fire and coordinated the successful egress of her passengers and herself through the baggage compartment door in the tail section of the airplane.

The pilot reported, “upon touchdown, the plane jumped back up as I reduced power all the way back.” He said that the airplane bounced twice on the grass runway, resulting in the nose wheel separating from the airplane. Subsequently, the nose landing gear strut dug into the ground, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane’s fuselage, wings, and empennage were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The pilot was enroute to the destination airport and overflying the Gulf of Mexico when about 15 nautical miles from the airport and at an altitude of 3,000 ft, the right engine suddenly lost power. The pilot described that about that time, the fuel totalizers indicated that 48 gallons of fuel were onboard, and his fuel quantity gauge indicated similarly. He then contacted air traffic control and declared an emergency. Shortly thereafter, the left engine also suddenly lost power. The pilot attempted to troubleshoot the issue and restart both engines but was unsuccessful. He subsequently ditched the airplane and was rescued from the water without injury. The airplane was not recovered and could not be examined after the accident, therefore the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

The airplane was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Panama City, Florida. The pilot, copilot and three passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight departed Cobb County International Airport – McCollum Field (RYY), Atlanta, Georgia about 1932 destined for Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), Panama City, Florida. According to the pilot, all the airplane’s systems (steering, engines, electrics, hydraulics, and avionics), worked normally for taxi and takeoff, and the enroute portion of the flight which was operated at FL220 (22,000 ft) was uneventful. The pilot set up for a straight-in ILS 16 Approach to ECP in the night visual meteorological conditions. The landing gear and wing flaps extended normally, and the hydraulic pressures and quantities were normal. The airplane touched down 2,500 ft from the approach end of the runway. The pilot then extended the airbrakes (speed brakes) and placed both engines into reverse idle; however, the reversers never deployed, and the system disagree horn annunciated. The pilot applied normal brakes and felt no deceleration. He verbalized on the interphone “no brakes” and the copilot immediately tried his brakes with no effect. The pilot then pulled the emergency brake handle to the first notch, with no effect, followed by the second stop (full emergency brakes), with the same result. The pilot tried recycling the brakes and reversers, again with no effect. He elected not to abort the landing at that point because he was unsure of the position the reversers (deployed or stowed) and the airplane was approaching the end of the 10,000-foot-long runway. The pilot Page 2 of 3 ERA23LA261 This information is preliminary and subject to change. then tried to shutdown both engines with the throttles but was unable because the reverser piggyback handles were still up. The pilot did not consider telling the copilot to pull the fire handles (another means of shutting down the engines) because the airplane was exiting the prepared surface of the runway and he was distracted by approaching obstacles. The pilot used the rudder to maneuver the airplane between two runway 34 approach lighting support poles. The airplane’s wings struck the poles, driving them across the inboard portion of the wings and into both engines inlets. The airplane bounced over a mound in the grass and then traveled into deep, soft sand where the gear collapsed, bringing the airplane to a stop.

Shortly after takeoff from Saint Augustine Airport, while in initial climb, the airplane contacted trees and crashed in a wooded area, bursting into flames. Both occupants and their dog escaped with minor injuries. The airplane was destroyed by a post crash fire.

The pilot reported, and airport security video confirmed, that during a takeoff attempt, the right wing contacted the runway and the pilot pulled back excessively on the yoke. The airplane pitched up, stalled, and descended back on to the runway. It subsequently traveled off the end of the runway and impacted trees, before coming to rest on its side. The pilot added that in retrospect, he should have rejected the takeoff when the right wing contacted the runway. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions, nor did the pilot report any. The inspector noted that both wings separated, and the fuselage was substantially damaged.

The single engine airplane landed last October at Dade-Collier Airport, in the center of the Everglades National Park, following a flight from Sancti Spíritus, Cuba. The pilot defected Cuba and landed safely in the US. On November 14, the pilot and copilot were hired to relocate the radial engine-equipped biplane as a public flight from Dade-Collier Airport to Miami-Opa Locka. The pilot stated that, while enroute, the airplane began to smoke and the engine lost power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a levee; however, the airplane’s main landing gear were wider than the levee, and after touchdown, the airplane traveled off the left side,
nosed over, and came to rest inverted, resulting in substantial damage. Both crew members were highly experienced but none of them have any flight hours in the accident airplane make and model.

The pilot obtained multiple preflight weather briefings that resulted in him delaying the flight’s departure until the afternoon. After departure, while near his intended destination, the pilot was twice advised by air traffic controllers of adverse weather, including heavy to extreme precipitation along the intended final approach. While in visual meteorological conditions the pilot requested an RNAV approach to his destination airport. While flying towards the final approach fix at a low thrust setting the autopilot attempted to maintain 2,000 ft while pitching up and slowing to about 100 knots, causing an airspeed aural warning. The pilot applied partial thrust and while in instrument meteorological conditions the flight encountered extreme precipitation and turbulence associated with the previously reported thunderstorm. The pilot turned off the autopilot; the airplane then climbed at a rate that was well beyond the performance capability of the airplane, likely caused by updrafts from the mature thunderstorm and application of takeoff thrust. The High Electronic Stability & Protection (ESP) engaged, pitching the airplane nose-down coupled with the pilot pushing the control stick forward. The airplane then began descending followed by pitching up and climbing again. The pilot pulled the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) and descended under canopy into a marsh but the airplane was dragged a short distance from wind that inflated the CAPS canopy. Post accident examination of the recovered airplane revealed substantial damage to the front pressure bulkhead and to both sides of the fuselage immediately behind the front pressure bulkhead. There was no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction of the flight controls for roll, pitch, or yaw. Data downloaded from the Recoverable Data Module (RDM) revealed no faults with the autopilot or stability protection systems until the CAPS system was activated, when those recorded faults would have been expected. Further, there were no discrepancies with the engine. Although the pilot perceived a malfunction of the autopilot at several times during the final portion of the flight, the perceived autopilot discrepancies were likely normal system responses based on the autopilot mode changes.