ERA25LA278

On July 28, 2025, about 16:24 eastern daylight time, an Orlican M-8, N974FL, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lake Worth Beach, Florida. The flight instructor sustained minor injuries, the private pilot sustained no injuries, and five people on the ground sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight test. The pilot/owner reported that he had brought the airplane to the United States to have maintenance completed. During the maintenance work a new propeller was installed and the accident flight was a test flight with the pilot/owner and a flight instructor where they would calibrate the new propeller. The pilot/owner continued that after departing runway 10 at Palm Beach County Park Airport (LNA), West Palm Beach, Florida, about a minute into the flight they experienced a total loss of engine power. They performed a forced landing to a roadway near a park during which the airplane struck a tree and a vehicle on the roadway resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, engine mount, and empennage. Postaccident examination of the airplane found there were about 27 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel present between both the wing fuel tanks. Postaccident photos showed that the electric fuel pump switch, avionics switch, and strobe switch were in the ON position. The pilot/owner reported that the airplane was usually used for “island hopping” in the Caribbean and that he would bring to the United States to have maintenance work completed. The airplane was retained for further examination.