Piper PA-28-181 N9578C

Summary

On 23 June 2004 at about 15:35 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N9578C was involved in an accident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. 3 people were on board and 2 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 June 2004 at 15:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Lauderdale Executive (FXE)

Coordinates

26.1917, -80.1669

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N9578C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Lauderdale → Pompano Beach

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL04FA139

2 people died.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning which resulted in the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, and the pilot's failure to maintain flying speed which resulted in an inadvertent stall, and the subsequent collision with a building.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During climb-out, at approximately 500 feet, the pilot radioed a 'MAYDAY MAYDAY" distress call. According to witnesses on the ground as the airplane climbed out the engine began to make a "sputtering noise" and then stopped. The airplane was observed in a left turn, by the tower controller, and descended out of sight. The pilot made no other radio transmissions. The airplane collided nose down into the roof of a commercial building about 1/2 mile from the departure end of runway 13. All flight control surfaces, and components were accounted for and identified at the wreckage site. Prior to the accident flight on June 23, 2004 the airplane was refueled with 16 gallons of 100LL. The fuel tank had compression damage to the leading edge and the tank was breached. There was no hydraulic type damage noted to the tank. Disassembly of the carburetor found no fuel in the bowl or in the acceleration pump. No fuel was noted in the engine driven fuel pump and only a trace amount was found in the fuel lines. The gascolator was crush damaged and the bowl was separated. The fuel boost pump was teardown and no blockage of the filter was noted. A trace amount of fuel was found inside the pump. No fuel was found at the accident site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.