- Date
- June 5, 1983, 18:20 local (22:20 UTC)
- Place
- Sebastian, FL
- Injuries
- 6 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4724SPiper PA-32-260
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830605026189A
- Case key
- 30785
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
During the flt, the plt contacted vero beach tower & requested the wx. He was advised that vero beach & ft pierce, FL were VFR, but there was wx north of vero beach, a convective SIGMET was in effect & there were thunderstorms in the area. The plt acknowledged the transmission & indicated he was in the area of the valkaria arpt. Shortly after that, he reported that he had overflown the valkapia arpt & would proceed south to vero beach. About 4 min later, he advised that he was north of vero beach in IFR wx & that he was going to reverse course & go back to valkaria. The plt's last radio transmission was made at 1820 EDT. The next morning, acft wreckage was found in that same vicinity where the plane had impacted in the intercoastal waterway. An exam of the wreckage revealed that it had crashed in a near inverted, nose down, left wing low attitude. An exam of the wreckage revealed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure. Intense thunderstorms, lightning & heavy showers were reported in the area.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4724S
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-1163
- Airframe hours
- 3,679
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-E4B5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Norman B. Mayer
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · March 9, 1983 · 23 hours before
- Departed
- 2RR · River Ranch, FL
- Destination
- FPR · Ft. Pierce, FL
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
- 46
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 200 total · 43 in this make and model · 150 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 140° at 18 knots
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VRB, 12 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.