Grumman G-73T N2969

Summary

On 19 December 2005 at about 19:39 local time, a Grumman G-73T registered N2969, operated by Flying Boat Inc, was involved in an accident near Miami, Florida, United States. 20 people were on board and 20 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 December 2005 at 19:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Miami, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Miami Seaplane Base (X44)

Coordinates

25.7809, -80.1997

Aircraft

Grumman G-73T

Registration

N2969

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Flying Boat Inc

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Miami → Bimini

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

NTSB number

DCA06MA010

20 people died.

The in-flight failure and separation of the right wing during normal flight, which resulted from (1) the failure of the Chalk's Ocean Airways maintenance program to identify and properly repair fatigue cracks in the right wing and (2) the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration to detect and correct deficiencies in the company's maintenance program.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-07/04. On December 19, 2005, about 1439 eastern standard time, a Grumman Turbo Mallard (G-73T) amphibious airplane, N2969, operated by Flying Boat, Inc., doing business as Chalk's Ocean Airways flight 101, crashed into a shipping channel adjacent to the Port of Miami, Florida, shortly after takeoff from the Miami Seaplane Base. Flight 101 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight to Bimini, Bahamas, with 2 flight crewmembers and 18 passengers on board. The airplane's right wing separated during flight. All 20 people aboard the airplane were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. Flight 101 was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 on a visual flight rules flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.