# NTSB ERA25LA278: Orlican S R O M-8 Eagle, N974FL, Lake Worth Beach, FL, July 28, 2025

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report
- Date: July 28, 2025, 16:24 local (20:24 UTC)
- Place: Lake Worth Beach, FL
- Coordinates: 26.59992, -80.07295 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.5999&lon=-80.0730&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Initial climb: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341)
- Highest injury: Minor injuries
- Injuries: 6 minor, 1 uninjured; on the ground: 5 minor
- Status: Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class: Class 3
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: Austrian Federal Safety Investigation Authority, FAA/FSDO, Rotech Flight Safety Inc.
- NTSB case key (mKey): 200651
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA25LA278
- NTSB preliminary report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/200651/pdf
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA25LA278

## Preliminary report

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.

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Initial climb: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Orlican S R O M-8 EAGLE, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=06001C5), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md)

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N974FL](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N974FL), registered now, S/N 2023009, built 2023 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ORLICAN S R O M-8 EAGLE
- Registry model: [Orlican S R O M-8 EAGLE](https://openairdocs.org/model/orlican-s-r-o-m-8-eagle) (registry code 06001C5) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Rotax 912ULS series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-912uls-series) (registry code 55572, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 2023009
- Year built: 2023
- Airframe hours: 187.9
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Flight test, Part 91
- Operator: Valiair LC Trustee
- Registered owner: Valiair LC Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate: Special, Special light-sport (Special)
- Last inspection: Condition, July 27, 2025, 0 hours before
- Departed: LNA, Lake Worth Corridor, FL
- Airport: LNA, Palm Beach County Park
- Equipment: Electronic primary flight display, Airframe parachute

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 80° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Temperature: 90 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observed at: PBI, 5 nm away
- METAR: KPBI 282053Z 08010KT 10SM FEW030 SCT250 32/24 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP176 T03220239 56010

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20250728017249A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20250728017249A), Jul 28, 2025: Orlican S R O M-8 EAGLE, Lake Worth, FL, Destroyed. NTSB accident no. [privacy data omitted]: Atqa: A-SO-19-25-049 sas ptrs no.: SO19202507166 task id: T-SO19-FY25-0949 registration: xxxxx make: Orlican model:…

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.

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