# Accident 20040430007629A: Sukhoi SU31, Ft Lauderdale, FL, April 30, 2004

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 30, 2004, 14:15 local time
- Place: Ft Lauderdale, FL
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Practice Training Manuevers
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 26.1472° N, 80.0919° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.1472&lon=-80.0919&mi=10
- Aircraft: N31SU, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N31SU-2013-09-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Sukhoi SU-31 (registry code 9850105, https://openairdocs.org/model/sukhoi-su-31) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: SUKHOI SU31
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 4,917 total, 52 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL04LA104](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04LA104) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040430007629A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON APRIL 30, 2004 A SUKHOI SU-31, N31SU OPERATED BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT COLLIDED WITH WATER OFF THE COAST OF FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, WHILE REHEARSING FOR AN AIR SHOW. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. VISUAL WEATHER CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA, ON APRIL 30, 2004, AT 1400. ACCORDING TO WITNESSES, THE PILOT WAS REHEARSING FOR AN AIRSHOW, WHEN HE ENTERED THE SPIN MANEUVER. THE SPIN MANEUVER CONTINUED UNTIL THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE WATER. THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET BELOW THE WATER SURFACE AND 1700 FEET OFF THE SHORELINE OF FT. LAUDERDALE.

## 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 ATL04LA104](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04LA104), Apr 30, 2004: Sukhoi SU-31 (N31SU), Fort Lauderdale, FL, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to recover from an intentional spin during an attempted aerobatic maneuver.

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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