What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
(-23) The aircraft departed destin, Florida for marsh harbor in the Bahamas. Shortly after take off, a weather cold front with embedded thunderstorms was encountered just north of panama city, Florida. The pilot was talking to tyndall approach and asked for help around the weather. Tyndall tried to guide the aircraft around some weather. The pilot asked for a block altitude because of severe vertical up and down drafts. A few minutes after they were given a block altitude the aircraft disappeared from the radar. There were four passengers and one pilot on board. Pilot was a designated pilot examiner (DPE) from the Alabama and northwest Florida flight standards district office. It has been difficult to identify the bodies and find parts of the aircraft since the aircraft broke apart in flight.
As the FAA filed it
(-23) THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED DESTIN, FLORIDA FOR MARSH HARBOR IN THE BAHAMAS. SHORTLY AFTER TAKE OFF, A WEATHER COLD FRONT WITH EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WAS ENCOUNTERED JUST NORTH OF PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA. THE PILOT WAS TALKING TO TYNDALL APPROACH AND ASKED FOR HELP AROUND THE WEATHER. TYNDALL TRIED TO GUIDE THE AIRCRAFT AROUND SOME WEATHER. THE PILOT ASKED FOR A BLOCK ALTITUDE BECAUSE OF SEVERE VERTICAL UP AND DOWN DRAFTS. A FEW MINUTES AFTER THEY WERE GIVEN A BLOCK ALTITUDE THE AIRCRAFT DISAPPEARED FROM THE RADAR. THERE WERE FOUR PASSENGERS AND ONE PILOT ON BOARD. PILOT WAS A DESIGNATED PILOT EXAMINER (DPE) FROM THE ALABAMA AND NORTHWEST FLORIDA FLIGHT STANDARDS DISTRICT OFFICE. IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY THE BODIES AND FIND PARTS OF THE AIRCRAFT SINCE THE AIRCRAFT BROKE APART IN FLIGHT.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.