- Date
- July 11, 1983, 06:30 local (10:30 UTC)
- Place
- Islamorada, FL
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6207JPiper PA-32R-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830711029359A
- Case key
- 30794
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
The acft was ditched in the Florida bay after the engine malfunctioned. According to the plt, the eng started to run rough and he ditched the acft at about 0600 EDT. However, the acft clock was stopped at 0345 and a commercial fisherman said he saw a low flying acft at about 0400 hours going in the direction of the crash with no lights on. The acft was found in about 4 ft of water in an upright position with the landing gear down about 200 yards west of the calusa key. The acft was equipped with an unapproved cabin fuel tank transfer hose plumbed to the acft's left fuel tank. Two of the acft seats had been removed. The acft owners address on the registration belongs to a business that rents mail boxes to people who wish to remain unknown. The plt said he did not know the passenger; the passenger said he had just met the pilot. The examination of the acft revealed no evidence of failure or malfunction.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6207J
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32R-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R-7680318
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Geoffrey M. Fickling
- Registered owner
- Tom P. Scully
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- TMB · Miami, FL
- Destination
- MTH · Marathon, 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
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,055 total · 3 in this make and model · 1,875 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TMB, 35 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.