- Date
- April 17, 1987, 04:35 local (08:35 UTC)
- Place
- Florida City, FL
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6505CPiper PA-28-181
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870417010059A
- Case key
- 31758
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 student plt had been authorized by his CFI to conduct a solo x-country training flt under daytime VFR conditions. He departed key west at 0330 EDT on the return portion of the flt. Neither his CFI nor his employer could offer an explanation for the 15 hr delay in departing. Witnesses, who saw the plt before takeoff, believed he was intoxicated. About 45 min after taking off, the acft crashed & burned in the everglades. Altho the wx was clear, the acdnt occurred on a dark night in a sparsely populated area with few ground lights. An exam of the wreckage revealed the acft crashed while in a steep, inverted attitude. No preimpact part failure or malfunction was found. Tests of the plt's blood & urine showed alcohol lvls of 0.25% & 0.32%, respectively. Evidence of marijuana was detected in his urine, but none was found in his blood. A med examiner rprtd he had issued the student a class iii medical certificate on 6/23/86, but he had moved since then & could not locate the med records. The FAA record center had no record of the med exam.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6505C
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-181
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 287890378
- Airframe hours
- 1,672
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-4AM, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- American Aviation,Inc.
- Registered owner
- America Aviation, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 2, 1987 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- EYW · Key West, FL
- Destination
- BKV · Brooksville, 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 55 total · 6 in this make and model · 20 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TMB, 20 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.
Other investigations on N6505C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.