Piper PA-23-250 N962AB

Summary

On 11 September 2004 at about 09:28 local time, a Piper PA-23-250 registered N962AB was involved in an accident near Lake Wales, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 September 2004 at 09:28

Classification

Accident

Location

Lake Wales, Florida, United States

Coordinates

27.8997, -81.6228

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-250

Registration

N962AB

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lake Wales Mun → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

ATL04LA177

2 people died.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation, and his inadequate visual lookout, which resulted in a collision with a television tower.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a night Mosquito Control Spraying operation the airplane collided with a 520-foot television tower 20-feet below the top. Witnesses stated they could hear the airplane and could see its marker lights, but did not see lights on the tower. At 0330, an automobile accident knocked out electrical power which included electrical power to the television tower. The pilot did not obtain a weather or preflight briefing prior to the flight which would have also provided him with NOTAM information stating that the power and lights had failed on the tower. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.