- Date
- July 13, 2003, 15:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Treasure Cay, Bahamas
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 6 minor, 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N314ABCessna 402C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 18, 2006
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- Parties
- FAA, Cessna Aircraft Company, FAA, ACO, Teledyne Continental Motors, FAA, AAI-100, McCauley Propeller Systems
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 20030713035469A
- Case key
- 57486
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
the in-flight failure of the right engine and the pilot’s failure to adequately manage the airplane’s performance after the engine failed. The right engine failure resulted from inadequate maintenance that was performed by Air Sunshine’s maintenance personnel during undocumented maintenance. Contributing to the passenger fatalities was the pilot’s failure to provide an emergency briefing after the right engine failed.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-04/03.
On July 13, 2003, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 402C, N314AB, registered to Tropical International Airlines Inc., and operated by Air Sunshine Inc., as Air Sunshine flight 527, was ditched in the Atlantic Ocean about 7.35 nautical miles west-northwest of Treasure Cay Airport (MYAT), Treasure Cay, Great Abaco Island, Bahamas, after the in-flight failure of the right engine. Two of the nine passengers sustained no injuries, five passengers and the pilot sustained minor injuries, and one adult and one child passenger died after they evacuated the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was being operated under the provisions 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 as a scheduled international passenger commuter flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to MYAT. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on a visual flight rules flight plan.
Factual narrative
The Safety Board's full report is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm. The Aircraft Accident Report number is NTSB/AAR-04/03.
On July 13, 2003, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 402C, N314AB, registered to Tropical International Airlines Inc., and operated by Air Sunshine Inc., as Air Sunshine flight 527, was ditched in the Atlantic Ocean about 7.35 nautical miles west-northwest of Treasure Cay Airport (MYAT), Treasure Cay, Great Abaco Island, Bahamas, after the in-flight failure of the right engine. Two of the nine passengers sustained no injuries, five passengers and the pilot sustained minor injuries, and one adult and one child passenger died after they evacuated the airplane. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was being operated under the provisions 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 as a scheduled international passenger commuter flight from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to MYAT. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on a visual flight rules flight plan.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N314AB
- Reported as
- Cessna 402C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 402C0413
- Airframe hours
- 17,589
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-520-VB, 325 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Air Sunshine, Inc., doing business as Tropical Aviation Services, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Tropical International Airlines, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · July 8, 2003 · 24.1 hours before
- Departed
- KFLL · Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Destination
- MYAT · Treasure Cay
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- MYAT · Treasure Cay Airport
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 45
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- July 9, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 7,904 total · 4,964 in this make and model · 5,637 as pilot in command · 250 in the last 90 days · 85 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 11.51 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.07 inHg
- Observed at
- MYAT, 64 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.