Piper PA-44-180 N2231M
9 May 1989 · Fort Pierce, Florida, United States · Fatal
Summary
On 9 May 1989 at about 15:53 local time, a Piper PA-44-180 registered N2231M, operated by Flight Safety International, was involved in an accident near Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 15:53
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Fort Pierce, Florida, United States
- Coordinates
- 26.5795, -80.2203
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-44-180
- Registration
- N2231M
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 2
- Operator
- Flight Safety International
- Operating rule
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Purpose of flight
- Instructional
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Vero Beach → Unknown
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- MIA89FA146
People
3 people died.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
INADEQUATE SUPERVISION BY THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT (CFI), AND FAILURE OF THE CREW TO MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT AIRSPEED, WHICH RESULTED IN AN INADVERTENT STALL/SPIN AND SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF ENGINE POWER FROM POSSIBLE INTERRUPTION OF FUEL.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
THE FLT WAS FOR CREW COORDINATION TRAINING & WAS ADMINISTERED BY FLT SAFETY INTL FOR AER LINGUS, A FOREIGN AIRLINE. AN INSTRUCTOR (CFI) & 2 FOREIGN PLTS WERE ABOARD (STUDENTS HAD PREVIOUSLY GOTTEN U.S. CERTS WITH SINGLE/MULTI-ENG RATINGS).BEFORE THE ACDNT, THE ACFT WAS HDG NE. RADAR DATA SHOWED THAT IT TURNED EAST WHILE MAINTAINING A CONSTANT ALT OF 3500'. AFTER TURNING EAST, ITS GND SPD SLOWED TO 53 KTS. THE ACFT THEN BEGAN A RGT TURN AT A RATE OF 125 DEG/MIN. AFTER TURNINGSOUTH, THE ACFT'S GND SPD SLOWED TO 37 KTS. THE ACFT THEN ENTERED A DSCNT, WHICH INCREASED TO 8000'/MIN. WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT SPINNING LEFT, IN A NOSE DWN ATTITUDE, BEFORE IT IMPACTED IN THE OCEAN. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FND. THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT DRG IMPACT, NEITHER ENG WAS OPERG, FLAPS WERE EXTNDD 10 DEG, MAIN GEAR WAS EXTNDD & THENOSE GEAR WAS IN TRANSIT. THE ACFT MANUFACTURER RPRTD THAT A SPIN MAY CAUSE AN INTERRUPTION OF FUEL TO THE ENGS BY EXCEEDING THE CARB LIMITATIONS. INTENTIONAL SPINS WERE PROHIBITED. VMC & STALL SPDS WERE 56 & 54 KTS, RESPECTIVELY.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Piper PA-44 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Feb 1989 | Piper PA-44-180 | Bunnell, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 23 Aug 1989 | Piper PA-44-180 | St Augustine, Florida, United States | First Coast Flight Center, Inc | No injuries | - |
| 12 Nov 1990 | Piper PA-44-180 | Prescott, Arizona, United States | Embry Riddle University | No injuries | - |
| 16 Aug 1988 | Piper PA-44-180 | Vero Beach, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 11 Nov 1988 | Piper PA-44-180 | Clearwater, Florida, United States | Bay Air Flying Service | No injuries | - |
| 12 Apr 1990 | Piper PA-44-180 | Stuart, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Mar 1989 | Cessna 172H | Melbourne, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Mar 1989 | Piper AEROSTAR 600 | Jacksonville, Florida, United States | Top Flight Air Service | Fatal | 1 |
| 25 Mar 1989 | Bellanca 7KCAB | Daytona Bch Shr, Florida, United States | Aerial Messages, Inc. | Fatal | 1 |
| 8 Apr 1989 | Beechcraft C-45H | Tampa, Florida, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 16 Apr 1989 | Coutz QUICKIE Q-2 | Lake City, Florida, United States | Rowe, Reardon L. | Fatal | 1 |
| 25 Apr 1989 | Cessna 150M | Miramar, Florida, United States | Tursair, Inc. | Serious injuries | - |