- Date
- May 30, 1991, 21:26 local (May 31, 1991, 01:26 UTC)
- Place
- Long Boat Key, FL
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6376PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 13, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910530018499A
- Case key
- 32752
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
An inflight loss of control and subsequent collision with the water for unknown reasons.
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 airplane was observed on radar to be flying different headings than the requested ones. The crew stated that they were having problems with the directional gyro. While over water at night the airplane disappeared from radar and radio contact. Witnesses on the beach observed the airplane in a spin until water contact. The airplane was not recovered and only one pilot's body was located.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6376P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1495
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1A5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Mutz, Dale
- Registered owner
- Mutz, Dale
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 5, 1990
- Departed
- SRQ · Sarasota, FL
- Destination
- PIE · St. Petersburg, 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
- 54
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 75 total · 2 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 70° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Observed at
- PIE, 21 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 N6376P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.