Piper PA-28R-200 N56192

Summary

On 10 June 1999 at about 00:54 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N56192 was involved in an accident near Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 June 1999 at 00:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States

Coordinates

28.2307, -80.6004

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N56192

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Lauderdale → Sanford

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

MIA99FA172

1 person died.

The pilot's VFR flight into Instrument meteorological conditions and his subsequent failure to maintain control of the aircraft resulting in overload and separation of both wings. Contributing factors were the pilot's failure to obtain a preflight and in-flight weather briefing, thunderstorm and dark night conditions, and the pilot's lack of instrument certification.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot obtained no preflight or in-flight weather briefings. While being vectored by ATC and advised to maintain VFR under dark night conditions, the non-instrument rated pilot encountered level 3 radar returns. Radar data from Jacksonville ARTCC indicates that the airplane entered a left turn with the airplane descending 1,000 feet in a 12 second period between the second to last and the last radar returns. The airplane was lost from radar at 5,400 feet mean sea level. Separated sections of both wings and right horizontal stabilator were located about .3 nautical mile south-southwest of the main wreckage location. Examination of the fracture surfaces revealed no evidence of preexisting cracks. A search for the airplane by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Civil Air Patrol, and aircraft from Patrick and Moody Air Force Base was performed. The flight crew of a helicopter from the 301'st rescue squadron located the wreckage approximately 40 hours after the airplane was lost from radar. Examination of the engine, flight controls, and vacuum pump revealed no evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction. The end of civil twilight where radar contact was lost occurred at 2052. Cocaine and benzoylecgonine, which is an inactive metabolite of cocaine, were detected in the pilot's bile. Propoxyphene, which is a narcotic painkiller often referred to by the trade name Darvon, and norpropoxyphene, which is a metabolite of Propoxyphene, were also detected in the pilot's bile. A small plastic packet of cocaine was found in a wallet that contained the pilot's identification.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.