Piper PA32 C6RVT

Summary

On 13 December 2017 at about 17:15 local time, a Piper PA32 registered C6RVT was involved in an accident near Oakland Park, Florida, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 December 2017 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Oakland Park, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Lauderdale Executive (FXE)

Coordinates

26.1772, -80.1761

Aircraft

Piper PA32

Registration

C6RVT

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 → Nassua

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA18LA062

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot indicated that he performed a preflight inspection with no anomalies noted and that the inboard fuel tanks were full of fuel and the outboard tanks contained about 1/4 fuel, which totaled about 60 gallons. According to the pilot, after departure, he initiated a left turn and reduced the engine power to "climb power"; soon after, the engine started to lose power. It "intermittently came back," and the pilot applied full power and requested to return to the airport. He started to set up an approach but realized that the airplane would not reach the airport; he landed the airplane in a lake just to the south, and the airplane sank. An engine examination revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The examination noted that the cabin of the airplane contained multiple household items that nearly reached the ceiling of the cabin; however, the items could not be accurately weighed after the airplane was submerged in water. When discussing the accident sequence with the pilot, he stated that he did not perform a weight and balance calculation with the contents of the airplane before takeoff. Based on the available evidence, the investigation could not determine the cause of the loss of engine power or if the airplane's weight and balance impacted the takeoff performance.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.