# Accident 19980717024559A: Piper PA31310, Miami, FL, July 17, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 17, 1998, 14:31 local time
- Place: Miami, FL
- Airport: Tamiami Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 25.6496° N, 80.4105° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=25.6496&lon=-80.4105&mi=10
- Aircraft: N7578L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7578L-2001-03-01) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-31-310 (registry code 7103102, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-31-310) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA31310
- Reported engine: LYC TIO540*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 6,700 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA98FA200](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98FA200) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980717024559A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

LOST AND ENGINE SHORTLY AFTER DEPARTURE. OBSERVED FLYING LOW ENGINE SPUTTERING. IMPACTED TERRAIN 1 MILE EAST OF TMB. (-23) WITNESS STATES HE SAW AIRCRAFT DEPART RUNWAY 9L. ENGINE WERE AUDIBLY RUNNING ROUGH AND LEFT ENGINE WAS EMITTING BLACK SMOKE.  AIRCRAFT WAS EXTREMELY LOW AT END OF RUNWAY (APPROX. 50FT) AND MADE A SERIES OF SHALLOW BANKED LEFT TURNS WHILE CLIMBING TO APPROX. 150 FT. WHEN ON A DOWNWIND HEADING THE AIRCRAFT ENTERED A LEFT ROLL AND IMPACTED THE GROUND NOSE FIRST, ALMOST VERTICALLY, IN A WOODED AREA APPROX. 1.25 MILES FROM AIRPORT CENTER.  THERE WAS NO POST IMPACT FIRE AND LITTLE EVIDENCE OF FUEL ON SCENE.  (.4) AN AIRCRAFT MECHANIC WORKING ABEAM OF THE POINT ON THE RUNW AY THAT THE AIRPLANE LIFTED OFF WAS ATTRACTED BY THE SOUND OF ENGINE ROUGHNESS, AND OBSERVED BLACK SMOKE TRAILING FROM THE LEFT ENGINE.  THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO CLIMB TO ABOUT 150 FEET AGL, ENTER A SERIES OF SHALLOW LEFT TURNS AT ABOUT THE AIRPORT'S EAST BOUNDARY AT SLOW SPEED, AND THEN ENTER A RAPID LEFT ROLL AND PITCH DOWN.  THE PILOT TRANSMITTED AN UNREADABLE CALL ON FAA TOWER FREQUENCY, BUT THE WORDS, 'WE GOT A..' AND 'ENGINE' WERE CLEARLY DISCERNABLE. THE AIRPLANE CRASHED IN DENSE BRUSH ABOU T 1.25 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE AIRPORT. CONTAMINATION WAS FOUND IN THE LEFT ENGINE FUEL SYSTEM.  POST CRASH TESTING OF THE LEFT FUEL SERVO REVEALED IT WOULD NOT SUSTAIN A STEADY STATE FUEL FLOW ABOVE ABOUT ONE HALF THROTTLE DUE TO CONTAMINATION.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA98FA200](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA98FA200), Jul 17, 1998: Piper PA-31-310 (N7578L), Miami, FL, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection which led to fuel contamination and subsequent loss of engine power. Also causal was the pilot's failure to maintain single engine flying speed (VMC).

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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