Aerofab LAKE LA-4-250 N1402C

Summary

On 17 December 2021 at about 17:24 local time, a Aerofab LAKE LA-4-250 registered N1402C was involved in an accident near Auburndale, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 December 2021 at 17:24

Classification

Accident

Location

Auburndale, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.0970, -81.8070

Aircraft

Aerofab LAKE LA-4-250

Registration

N1402C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1984

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Winter Haven → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA090

2 people died.

A bird strike, which resulted in a loss of control while flying at low altitude over a lake.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed from a lake near his residence, about 5 nautical miles southeast of the accident site, for a local flight. About 53 minutes after departure, the airplane overflew another lake at an altitude of about 825 ft above mean sea level. After a slight right turn, the airplane rapidly descended and impacted the water. First responders recovered floating debris and found the carcass of a turkey vulture in the debris field. During recovery of the airplane, feathers were found wrapped around the fuel cap and filler neck of the right wing fuel tank, suggestive of a bird strike. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any pre-impact anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Although two witnesses reported observing potential problems with the engine, describing its noise as “struggling to develop full power” and “making a sputtering noise”, the damage to the propeller blades, which included leading edge gouging, chordwise scratch marks, and “S” bending, were consistent with the engine rotating and under power at the time of impact. No additional bird remnants or impact marks were found that would conclusively explain precisely how a bird strike (or strikes) may have led to a loss of control. However, the presence of the bird carcass in the debris field, which was located about 0.1 nautical miles southwest of where the airplane began its rapid descent, suggests that bird likely remained with the airplane after being struck by it. No remnants of the windscreen were recovered with the airplane wreckage, which suggests the possibility that a bird (or birds) may have penetrated the cockpit. Given the bird remnants found on the airplane and at the accident site, along with the wreckage examination that did not identify any pre-impact anomalies with the airplane or engine, it is likely that a bird strike led to the loss of control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.