Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miramar, Florida
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N6198Q
Location: Tamiami, FL
Accident Number: WPR18LA135
Date & Time: 05/03/2018, 2241 EDT
Registration: N6198Q
Aircraft: CESSNA 152
Injuries: 2 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal
On May 3, 2018, about 2241 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N6198Q, collided with terrain about 24 miles west of Tamiami, Florida. The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger sustained serious injuries. The airplane, which was substantially damaged, was registered to Rob Wes, Inc., and operated by Dean International, Inc., as a personal flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident site and no flight plan was filed for the cross-country flight. The flight originated from Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Florida at an unknown time, with a planned destination of Miami Executive Airport (TBM), Miami, Florida.
According to the owner of Dean International, Inc., the two pilots departed TBM about 1700 the afternoon before the accident flight. Their plan was to fly to the Lakeland area, where they expected good flying weather. They later departed LAL in dark/night conditions after having refueled and subsequently flew into instrument meteorological conditions near the area of the accident site. The owner stated that the pilots lost control of the airplane while in the clouds, entered a spin from which they recovered, then entered another spin. After recovering from the second spin the airplane collided with terrain.
Miami Approach Control was in communication with the pilot when radar and radio contact was lost. A search was initiated which resulted in both pilots being rescued by local authorities.
The wreckage was relocated to a secure facility for further examination.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Manufacturer: CESSNA
Registration: N6198Q
Model/Series: 152 NO SERIES
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: Dean International Inc.
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Pilot School (141)
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: Instrument Conditions
Condition of Light: Night
Observation Facility, Elevation: KTMB, 10 ft msl
Observation Time: 0153 UTC
Distance from Accident Site: 11 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 26°C / 23°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Few / 1800 ft agl
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 8 knots, 130°
Lowest Ceiling:
Visibility: 10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.95 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: LAKELAND, FL (LAL)
Destination: MIAMI, FL (TMB)
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 2 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Serious
Latitude, Longitude: 25.795000, -80.569722 (est)
It happened just before 11:30 p.m. Thursday west of U.S. 27 and Krome Avenue.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was the first to reach the scene. A medic lowered from a helicopter spotted one person trapped under the twisted metal from the plane. He then spotted a second person who was also trapped, but alive, under the wreck and in knee-deep waters. A second medic was lowered to help move the wreckage. A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue airboat arrived and its crew helped free the two men who were trapped.
“We’re in the swamp, six to seven-foot high sawgrass, four feet of water, and jagged metal,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Derrick Caballero. “Little by little we would lift up the wreckage and pull the victims out and get them free from the wreckage.”
The pilot and passenger of the Cessna 152 were then airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center where they were listed as stable.
A check of the FAA registry shows the plane was registered to Dean International, a flight school and aircraft rental company which operates out of Miami Executive Airport.
Last July one of Dean International’s students, Mark Ukaere from Nigeria, was killed when the Cessna 152 he was flying crashed in the Everglades.
Ukaere took off in the plane without telling anyone, according to flight school owner Ian Robert Dean. He speculated that Ukaere, who was flying at night, suffered spatial disorientation which he likened to flying in a black hole. He added that pilots not fully instrument-qualified can easily lose their bearings at night.
“The individual was qualified but he broke every single company policy,” said Dean. “They’re required to fly at night with two pilots on board.”
Ukaere, a licensed pilot, was working on getting his instrument rating.
Marshall Jones owns Mack’s Fish Camp. Some of the rescue boats took off last night from his docks. He strongly believes weather was a factor in the crash because he was out in his airboat in the middle of the same storm Thursday night.
“There was a blinding rain storm that came in, it was a small cell but very, very aggressive rainstorm,” he said. “It’s just an absolute miracle that they’re both alive.”
Jones said the uninhabited near his camp is popular for pilot training flights.
“Three aircraft have gone down within a five square mile area in just the last two years, in that same area,” he said.
Those who survived the crashes and other threats to contend with including mosquitoes, spiders, scorpions, snakes, alligators.
“Both crash victims were extremely lucky that the responding agency was able to find them so fast,” he said.
“The biggest thing is that if we hadn’t found them we wouldn’t have been able to extricate them from the wreckage,” said Caballero.
The U.S. Coast Guard assisted lowering one of the paramedics at the crash scene.
The FAA will investigate the crash and the National Transportation Safety Board will try to determine what cause it.
Story and video ➤ http://miami.cbslocal.com
Two people were rushed to the hospital after the small plane they were in crashed into the Everglades in Miami-Dade County.
Crews from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue as well as Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, responded to the scene west of Okeechobee Road and Krome Avenue - near the line between Miami-Dade and Broward - just before 11 p.m., with responders having to be lowered by helicopter to the scene miles west of the roadway.
The FAA said the Cessna 152 aircraft was traveling to Miami Executive Airport when it crashed, saying they will investigate along with the NTSB.
The two people were airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center, where they are in stable condition, according to Miami-Dade Police.
The owner of Mack's Fishing Camp, located 15 miles east of where the crash took place, said a blinding rainstorm had come in not long before.
"It was a small cell but very very aggressive rainstorm that came through at approximately 9:40 pm and was about a 15-20 minute long storm that had 30-40 mile an hour gusts," said Marshall Jones.
Jones said if it weren't for the current drought, the two people inside could have drowned, adding he has participated in similar operations in the area over the last five years.
"If they were trying to move away from the aircraft, which is never a suggested idea, if they were trying to move away from the aircraft seeking help they could run across an alligator that could be very defensive," he added.
Chopper 6 was over the scene Friday morning, showing the wreckage of the plane with the name of a local flight school, Dean International, on the side. A pilot onboard a plane owned by the same company died in a crash last summer in the Everglades near Homestead.
NBC 6 obtained reports by the National Transportation and Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration of downed planes at Dean International. Since 2007, a total of 29 accidents or incidents have been documented, including five fatalities.
Story and video ➤ https://www.nbcmiami.com
Two people are hospitalized after the small plane they were riding crashed into the pitch-black, rain-swept Everglades late Thursday night.
Air traffic controllers reported that a plane went down west of Okeechobee Road and Krome Avenue near the Miami-Dade and Broward County line around 11:50 p.m.
Rescue crews from both counties responded to the call but a storm moving through the area initially made the search and rescue more difficult. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded with air, land and water crews, including the deployment of an airboat and a helicopter.
Using night vision goggles, the Miami-Dade rescue crew saw two people trapped within the mangled plane, which was in two pieces in a swampy area, dwarfed by sawgrass.
A flight medic was lowered to the wreckage site and saw movement from one of the individuals who was "heavily trapped" under the twisted metal, Miami-Dade Fire said. The medic also spotted a second person trapped under the wreckage and in knee-deep water.
A second medic, lowered to the crash site from the helicopter, assisted to help manually lift the plane to extricate the two survivors. Rescuers were joined by medics aboard a Miami-Dade Fire airboat and a Coast Guard helicopter.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna 152 aircraft was traveling to Miami Executive Airport before it crashed. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The two as-yet unidentified people were airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center and are in stable condition.
The 1981 Cessna 152 single-engine, two-seat plane is registered to Rob Wes Inc. of Miami.
Footage from the wreckage shows that the plane is marked with the name Dean International Flight School in blue lettering.
"It’s just an absolute miracle that they're both alive," Dean Flight School owner Ian Robert Dean told Miami Herald news partner CBS4.
The Miami flight school has had more than two dozen prior incidents or accidents logged with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board since 2007, records show.
These include a small Cessna 172 airplane that crash-landed in Key Biscayne last July, injuring a student pilot.
In the 29 listed incidents filed with the FAA, five fatalities were reported — including a pilot, flying solo on a Cessna 152 single-engine plane registered to Dean International who died in July in a crash deep into the Everglades about seven miles west of Homestead.
Story and video ➤ http://www.miamiherald.com
Two people were rushed to the hospital after the small plane they were on crash into the Everglades in Miami-Dade County.
Crews from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue as well as Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, responded to the scene west of Okeechobee Road and Krome Avenue just before 11 p.m., with responders having to be lowered by helicopter to the scene miles west of the roadway.
The two people were airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center, where their conditions and identity are not known at this time.
Chopper 6 was over the scene Friday morning, showing the wreckage of the plane with the name of a local flight school, Dean International, on the side. A pilot onboard a plane owned by the same company died in a crash last summer in the Everglades near Homestead.
NBC 6 obtained reports from the National Transportation and Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration of downed planes at Dean International. Since 2007, a total of 29 accidents or incidents have been documented, including five fatalities.
Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.wptv.com
March 02, 2016: Aircraft on taxi, wingtip struck a pole.
Date: 02-MAR-16
Time: 15:00:00Z
Regis#: N6198Q
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 152
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Unknown
Flight Phase: TAXI (TXI)
City: PUNTA GORDA
State: Florida
The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miramar, Florida
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N80457
NTSB Identification: ERA17LA242
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, July 13, 2017 in Key Biscayne, FL
Aircraft: CESSNA 172, registration: N80457
Injuries: 1 Minor, 1 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On July 13, 2017, about 2320 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N80457, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a road near Key Biscayne, Florida. The flight instructor was not injured and the private pilot receiving instruction sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to C & G Aircraft Parts, Inc., and operated by Dean International, Inc., dba Dean International Flight School, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as an instructional flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Miami Executive Airport (TMB), Miami, Florida, about 2055.
The flight instructor stated that during the preflight inspection, both fuel tanks were visually inspected and also checked using a dipstick, and each tank contained about 15 gallons. The flight departed TMB with the fuel selector on the "both" position, and flew to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the private pilot, who was receiving instruction for an instrument rating, executed a practice instrument approach that terminated with a full-stop landing. The airplane remained on the ground for about 15-18 minutes with the engine operating, then departed and flew to Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, Florida, where the private pilot executed another practice instrument approach, which terminated with a missed approach, and holding practice. About 2215, the flight instructor elected to return to TMB and requested visual flight rules flight following from air traffic control (ATC). The flight proceeded south, east, and then south along the shoreline. While flying near Key Biscayne with the engine operating between 2,300 and 2,350 rpm, the mixture control full rich, and the fuel selector on the same position it had been since the initial takeoff (both), the engine sputtered about 2-3 seconds, lost power, then increased briefly to 1,500 rpm, before losing power again. The private pilot reported the left and right fuel gauges at that time were indicating the lower red arc and between 1/4 and 1/2 capacity, respectively. Attempts to restore engine power consisted of moving the fuel selector to each fuel tank position, and checking the magnetos on each respective position, but engine power was not restored. The flight instructor declared an emergency with the ATC controller and requested emergency equipment. While descending for a forced landing to a road, the airplane collided with tree branches, and then a light pole, and came to rest within 25 to 30 ft of the touchdown point on the road.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, there was no evidence of fuel leakage or a breach of either fuel tank. Less than 1 gallon of fuel was drained from the left fuel tank, while about 10 gallons of fuel were drained from the right fuel tank. The airplane was recovered for further examination at a later date.
The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entities:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miramar, Florida
Textron Aviation; Wichita, Kansas
Lycoming Engines; Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
Registered to Air Christian Inc
Operated by Dean International Inc dba Dean International Flight School
http://registry.faa.gov/N49453
NTSB Identification: ERA17FA231
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, July 01, 2017 in Homestead, FL
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration: N49453
Injuries: 1 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On July 1, 2017, about 2118 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N49453, was destroyed when it descended and impacted terrain in Everglades National Park, Homestead, Florida. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was registered to Air Christian, Inc., and operated by Dean International, Inc., dba Dean International Flight School, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Miami Executive Airport (TMB), Miami, Florida, about 2050.
According to preliminary Federal Aviation Administration air traffic control (ATC) communication and radar information, the pilot contacted local control, and was cleared to takeoff from runway 9R with a right turn to the southwest. Uncorrelated radar targets consistent with the airplane were tracked from the first target located just past the departure end of runway 9R. The airplane then turned to the southwest and flew west of Miami Homestead General Aviation Airport (X51). The airplane then proceeded due west of X51, where, orbits consistent with a procedure turn and instrument holding procedures were noted. The last radar target at 2118, at an altitude of 950 ft msl, on a heading of 324° was noted at 25.49101° north latitude and -080.7483° west longitude.
The operator reported the pilot as missing to law enforcement on July 5, 2017; the wreckage was located in the evening about 2230. No emergency locator transmitter signal was reported to ATC by flight crews flying overhead or nearby, or received by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center.
The wreckage was recovered for examination at a later date.
MIAMI, FL — Facing heightened scrutiny after back-to-back plane crashes at public parks in the Miami area, the founder of Dean International Flight School defended his school's safety record on Tuesday and told Patch that the student who died in a July 6 crash disobeyed school safety rules.
Robert Dean also said that the second crash eight days later was caused by debris in the fuel tank and not pilot error.
The school has 50 aircraft and trains more than 350 students per year.
"We are dedicated to keep each and every one of our students and our instructors safe," insisted Dean on Tuesday. He owns the school that experienced the crashes in a span of less than two weeks. The school has graduated some 8,000 pilots from all around the world. "I am an instructor myself and teach my own son in these aircraft."
Both of the crashes appear to have occurred under darkness just 13 days apart. The school is located at Miami Executive Airport, 14150 SW 129th St., Miami.
The student pilot who died was found in a remote area of Everglades National Park along with wreckage from his Cessna 152, single engine aircraft.
The crash site was seven miles west of Homestead in a swampy area, where an alligator was also seen combing the wreckage.
The student was identified as Nigerian-born Mark Ukaere.
The second crash involved a Cessna C172 aircraft that made a late-night emergency landing on a road in Crandon Park after losing power.
The aircraft struck a utility light during its descent.
"The first accident that took place was a pilot that did not follow our basic rules of not flying alone at night and not getting permission to fly," asserted Dean. "This is in our written agreement and signed by every student."
With respect to the Key Biscayne crash, Dean said that debris was blocking fuel from getting to the engine.
"We do not do our own fueling and pay other companies to to do it," he explained.
Federal Aviation Administration records obtained by Patch reveal that the school experienced a total of 23 safety incidents between March 2007 and November 2016 prior to the two most recent incidents.
In the case of the Key Biscayne crash, Dean said that the instructor and pilot followed proper protocol.
"The instructor and the pilot did exactly what we train for and walked away with a minor nose scratch," he explained. "Our ratio of accidents is far less than the other schools at our airport. Our aircraft do approximately 50,000 flight hours per year compared to other schools that operate 10 to 15 aircraft per year and do 10,000 to 12,000 hours per year."
Dean said that his staff does everything it can to prevent accidents like the two that happened in recent weeks.
"We have the best flight school and maintenance department," he added. "We continue to strive for no accidents or incidents and pray for all students and instructors to follow the rules that we have in place to keep us all safe and sound."
https://patch.com
Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.
Cessna 152, N49453, Air Christian Inc: Fatal accident occurred near Homestead General Aviation Airport (X51), Miami-Dade County, Florida
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; South Florida
Air Christian Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N49453
Aircraft crashed into a swamp area. The one (1) soul on board was fatally injured. Subject of an alert notice. Wreckage located seven (7) miles from Homestead, Florida.
Date: 06-JUL-17
Time: 06:09:00Z
Regis#: N49453
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: C152
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: UNKNOWN
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
City: HOMESTEAD
State: FLORIDA
Mercy Akinyemi: Pilot said he flew alone because flight instructor was a no-show
MIAMI-DADE, Fla. - While flying a Cessna 152, Mark Ukaere sent pictures to his girlfriend, Mercy Akinyemi, before crashing in the Florida Everglades.
Akinyemi, who lives in New Jersey, said she warned him that it was getting dark. He sent her selfies from the cockpit on Saturday.
"I asked him why he did you have to fly alone. You just landed without anyone," Akinyemi said. "He said the guy never showed up. His instructor never showed up."
It would be the last pictures he would send her. Ukaere, 29, died. Authorities found his body on Wednesday. Alligators preyed upon his remains.
"Right now, everyone is confused. Everyone is devastated," Akinyemi said.
The plane belonging to Dean Flight Training was destroyed. Ukaere, a licensed pilot, was working on an advanced certification.
Robert Dean, the flight school's owner, attributed the cause of the crash to spatial disorientation due to the darkness of the night over the Everglades.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.
https://www.local10.com
Mark Ukaere
SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A small airplane was found in the Everglades, along with the body of a pilot, after the plane had gone missing, Wednesday night.
According to Miami-Dade Police, they received a call from the owner of Dean International Flight School regarding the missing plane at 10:19 p.m., Wednesday, and dispatched an Air Rescue unit.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said a downed Cessna 152 single-engine airplane was later found at 1:58 a.m., Thursday, in an area seven miles west of Homestead General Aviation.
Police said the pilot’s body was found near the wreckage. Officials have yet to identify the deceased pilot, but roommates of Mark Ukaere, a student at the flight school, said they fear he is the pilot killed in the crash.
Ukaere’s roommates said he is a licensed pilot who has been continuing his training. He has been missing since Saturday night.
According to Robert Dean, the owner of the flight school, the pilot took off without permission at 8:50 p.m. “The individual was qualified to fly the aircraft, but he broke every single company policy,” he said.
Dean said they conducted their own search before contacting the FBI, Wednesday morning. “In our minds, we thought that he had already taken off, and he was doing what’s called a solo cross country,” he said. “Sunday went by. People went looking for the aircraft but could not find it, and then Tuesday was the holiday, the Fourth of July.”
Moreover, Dean said, Ukaere was not supposed to be flying in the dark without a co-pilot.
A trainer at the school said flying solo should only come after years of experience. “You take your time, you log your hours, but those hours do not really guarantee the right experience or the right to control the aircraft,” he said. “Some people get it in 20, some people get it in 60. So it is really sad, but it is not discouraging at all because it is motivation to investigate that occurrence — what happened, what was the effect of it and to learn from it.”
http://wsvn.com
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – In the Everglades, west of Homestead, a small plane could be seen from the air mangled in an apparent crash dive.
The scene is infused with alligators and accessible only by airboat.
The plane, a Cessna 152, was occupied by just the pilot who was apparently killed outright.
Mark Ukaere, from Nigeria, was an advanced student at Miami Executive Airport’s Dean Flight Training school, his fellow students told CBS4’s Gary Nelson. Ukaere did not have any family in South Florida.
The school’s owner, Robert Dean, said Ukaere took off in the plane Saturday night without telling anyone.
“He decided to go fly, himself,” said Dean. “He basically took the aircraft away from here without any authorization.”
Dean said Ukaere, who crashed into the Everglades muck, was well aware of rules against solo night flights.
“The individual is qualified to fly the aircraft, but he broke company policy. They are required to fly at night with two pilots on board,” Dean said.
The requirement is for good reason. Pilots not fully instrument-qualified can easily lose their bearings at night.
Ukaere, a licensed pilot, was working on getting his instrument rating.
“You go out there in the pitch dark and you basically have spatial disorientation,” Dean said. “So what happened is he took off and he went into what is basically called a black hole.”
Knowing the danger, why did the company not report the plane and its pilot missing for four days?
“In our minds, we thought that he had taken off and he was doing what is called a solo cross-country,” Dean said.
It was not until after the July 4th holiday, when Ukaere had not returned, and the plane couldn’t be located at any airport around the state, that the company reported it missing.
A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter found it in the swamp hours later.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Miami-Dade homicide detectives are handling the death investigation.
Various local and federal agencies, as of Thursday afternoon, could not say what, if any, civil or criminal liability the company might face for the delay in reporting its aircraft missing.
http://miami.cbslocal.com
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. - A small airplane that apparently crashed in the Florida Everglades has been found.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine Cessna 152 was found in a swampy area about seven miles west of Homestead.
The FAA said the pilot was the only person on board.
Miami-Dade police Detective Argemis Colome said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue found the wreckage at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A view from Sky 10 showed a body in the swamp next to the wreckage. An alligator was wading next to the body.
The plane was registered to Air Christian Inc. in Miami. The same plane was forced to make an emergency landing on U.S. Highway 41 in Collier County in December 2015.
A logo for Dean International Flight Training & Aircraft Rentals was on the side of the plane. The company is based at Miami Executive Airport.
Local 10 News reporter Liane Morejon spoke to the flight school's owner, who said the pilot took off on an unauthorized solo flight at 8:40 p.m. Saturday.
Robert Dean said he called different places he thought the pilot might have gone to and people who might have been with him before contacting the FBI Wednesday night.
The business owner said he believes the pilot suffered from spatial disorientation as he flew in pitch darkness over the Everglades.
FAA and National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived at the scene Thursday morning.
https://www.local10.com
A pilot was killed after his Cessna 152 single-engine plane crashed deep in the Everglades Wednesday night, authorities said.
A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue air unit first spotted the plane wreckage around 10:20 p.m. with a body alongside the debris, police spokesman Argemis Colome said. Fire Rescue then alerted Miami-Dade police, but because of the conditions authorities decided to wait till morning to go out to the scene, he said.
The crash is “so far into the Everglades that they might have to take airboats,” said Colome. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash happened about seven miles west of Homestead. The pilot was the only person on the plane.
The plane that crashed had been housed at Miami Executive Airport, Colome added, though he said officers were still investigating when the plane had taken off. The pilot’s identity was not released.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the agency is investigating the crash, and the National Transportation Safety Board is determining what caused the aircraft to go down.
The wreckage of a small, single engine aircraft was found in a swampy area of the Everglades early Thursday morning.
The Cessna 152 was found about seven miles west of Homestead, the FAA said in a statement. Only the pilot was on board.
Footage appeared to show the pilot's body amid the wreckage.
No information was released about how the plane got in the swampy area. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are en route to begin their investigation.
http://www.nbcmiami.com
One week after the body of a pilot who trained at a South Florida aviation school was discovered near a downed plane, another plane from that same school made a crash landing in Key Biscayne.
The two people on board were no seriously injured in Friday’s incident. The crash was the most recent in an unusually high pattern of incidents originating from Dean International Flight School. Last week, Mark Ukaere was killed when his unauthorized flight crashed in the Everglades. Ukaere’s body was discovered near the plane with an alligator creeping close by.
One week later, most of the school’s planes were temporarily out of service, NBC 6 exclusively confirmed. Thirty-nine out of 50 planes were place into maintenance, at least nine by the order of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Some of the maintenance work is routine, but others include rudder issues, faulty brakes and loose or missing screws.
In an exclusive interview, the owner of the Dean International told NBC 6 the bigger the school, the more issues.
"If you're operating an operation like this, 50 aircraft, 60,000 miles per year, if you take our average and another schools' average, we're in a heck of a good shape," owner Robert Dean said.
NBC 6 uncovered and sifted a stack of documents obtained by the FAA and the National Transportation and Safety Board, which showed lengthy reports of planes that went down. Since 2007, the school logged a total of 29 accidents or incident – including 5 fatalities.
Dean defended the school, saying that despite the issues many students attend the school because it is one of the best aviation centers.
Watch Video: http://www.nbcmiami.com
Cessna 172M Skyhawk, N80457, C & G Aircraft Parts Inc: Accident occurred July 13, 2017 in Key Biscayne, Miami-Dade County, Florida
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miami, Florida
C & G Aircraft Parts Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N80457
Aircraft force landed on a road.
Date: 14-JUL-17
Time: 03:20:00Z
Regis#: N80457
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: C172
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: MINOR
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: INSTRUCTION
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
City: KEY BISCAYNE
State: FLORIDA
When a small Cessna 172 airplane crash-landed in Key Biscayne after its engine reportedly lost power late Thursday night, the forced landing broke one pilot’s nose and snapped the strut supporting the plane’s right wing. As the plane careened along Crandon Boulevard as its impromptu runway, it crashed into a light pole and then a tree, police said.
But both men on that flight — a flight instructor and his student — survived the crash. It was the second in as many weeks linked to Dean International Flight School in Miami, after a plane crash in the Everglades killed another student pilot from the school earlier this month.
Both accidents follow a checkered history for the flight school, which has had more than two dozen prior incidents or accidents logged with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board in the last 10 years, records show.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Jorge Lafarga said officers were alerted to the Key Biscayne crash around 11:20 p.m. Thursday, and that Key Biscayne police and Miami-Dade police helped respond at the scene. The two men in the plane had only minor injuries, and one was taken to the hospital, police said.
The aircraft had taken off from Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach and was headed for Miami Executive Airport before it was forced to land, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in an email.
NTSB investigator Tim Monville said the damage to the small plane was extensive enough to classify it as an accident, but that an investigation was just beginning. The FAA is also investigating the crash, Bergen said.
Though the plane was registered to C&G Aircraft Parts Inc., the tail of the plane bore Dean International’s name, partially masked with white tape. The address on FAA record for C&G Aircraft Parts Inc. is the same as the address for Air Christian Inc., the registered owner of another plane linked to Dean International that crashed in early July.
That plane, a Cessna 152 single-engine craft, disappeared July 1 after a student pilot with Dean International took off alone from Miami Executive Airport that evening, police said. The school’s owner, Robert Dean, reported the craft missing to the FAA the following Wednesday, four days later. The plane’s wreckage was spotted in the Everglades about seven miles west of Homestead later that night after an alert for the craft was sent out.
When rescue crews finally made it through the swampy landscape to recover that plane, they found a craft that had been functionally destroyed, Monville said. “The cockpit was fragmented, both wings were heavily damaged, the tail was broken off, but attached by cables.”
The pilot, whom news outlets later identified as Mark Ukaere, had been studying for an advanced certification at Dean International, according to roommates. He had been licensed to fly the craft but violated a flight school policy forbidding flying alone, Dean told Local 10.
Ukaere wasn’t the first pilot fatality in Dean International’s history. FAA records showed the school had more than two dozen prior accidents or incidents in the last 10 years, including a fatality in 2014 when a student pilot crashed into the water off Elliott Key and died. Two were injured in 2007 when a plane trying to make an emergency landing crashed into power lines and landed upside-down.
The FAA took action more than half a dozen times, issuing warning notices and fines to the school, records showed. The reports cited multiple issues in those cases, including failed pre-flight inspections and insufficient maintenance of fuel and oil fluid levels.
A preliminary report on the plane that crashed in the Everglades is still pending, but Monville said that initial tests of the emergency locator transmitter had showed it did not send out a signal.
Dean, the flight school’s owner, did not return calls for comment Friday. He defended his school’s flying record to NBC6, which previously reported on the flight school’s history, though he acknowledged that his school’s history of accidents was higher than average.
“If you’re operating an operation like this, 50 aircraft, 60,000 miles per year, if you take our average and another schools’ average, we’re in a heck of a good shape,” Dean told the station.
Multiple passersby who saw the crashed plane in Key Biscayne Friday said those on board were lucky to have survived. As Downtown Towing pulled the wreckage of the plane into a street off the main boulevard on Friday afternoon, some tourists took photos and passengers in cars inching by rolled down their windows for a better look. The plane’s wings were separated from the body, and a light pole and no turns street sign were knocked over.
Leonardo Caldreron, 50, said he was thankful no one had been seriously hurt in the crash — and impressed the pilot had landed the plane given the narrowness of the road and the many trees lining it.
“I’m surprised it didn’t catch on fire,” he said. “I was trying to look for skid marks.”
http://www.miamiherald.com
Two men inside a small plane survived after it crashed Thursday night on Key Biscayne’s main road.
Police and fire rescue agencies were called at 11:18 p.m. to the Cessna C172 single-engine aircraft.
It collided with a tree in the 4000 block of Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne Police Chief Charles Press said.
“No other vehicles or people were involved,” Press said. “Everyone walked away from the crash.”
The plane, built in 1976, “reportedly lost power,” an FAA spokeswoman said in an email Friday. It had taken off from Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach and was destined for Miami Executive Airport, but landed instead on the island that is east of Miami. The FAA will investigate the crash, she said.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was joined at the scene by Key Biscayne Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade Police.
“There was no fire and the crash survivors had minor injuries,” said Lt. Felipe Lay of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. “One was taken to a hospital.”
The crash site is near the tennis center where the Miami Open international tournament is played.
“Traffic obviously was affected to a small degree,” Press said. “But it was late. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, and it’s moving normally today.”
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were notified, the fire official said. A light pole was knocked out of its base and Florida Power & Light came to fix it.
“I think it was more of a safety issue rather than for a power outage,” Lay said.
The plane is registered to C&G Aircraft Parts Inc., in Miami. On its tail was an ad for a flight school, Dean International.
On July 5, a crashed Cessna 152 plane registered to Air Christian Inc., was discovered in the Everglades, seven miles west of Homestead. It was linked to Dean International Flight School at Miami Executive Airport, according to records.
The body of the pilot, the only person aboard, was found next to the wreckage, authorities said.
“The aircraft went missing from Miami Executive Airport [July 1],” FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said at that time.
On July 3, the plane’s owner alerted the FAA that it was missing, she said. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s aviation unit found the crash scene.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating that crash.
Robert Dean, of the flight school, was on vacation and not available to comment, a staffer said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com
It was a shocking discovery in the depths of the Everglades Thursday morning: A man's body was found next to a mangled plane as a gator crept nearby.
The pilot-in-training, identified as Mark Ukaere, went on an unauthorized flight and crashed in the murky waters, officials said. It was later revealed that the plane went missing from the Dean International Flight School Saturday, but wasn't reported missing until four days later.
NBC 6 analyzed reports that reveal past problems at the aviation school. NBC 6 also obtained an exclusive radar image highlighting the deadly flight path into the Everglades.
Robert Dean runs the aviation center from Miami Executive Airport. The school houses 50 aircraft and logs 60,000 miles per year.
"The reason there's so many children, so many kids at this school is because of our safety record, because of the way we maintain the planes," Dean told NBC 6. "The pilots, the captains who fly, all send their kids. Why? Because this is one of the best schools."
However, Dean admits his school has higher instances of accidents and issues than most other schools.
NBC 6 obtained reports by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration of downed planes at Dean International. Since 2007, a total of 29 accidents or incidents have been documented, including five fatalities.
The reports reveal other issues such as failed pre-flight inspections, loss of engine power, unsatisfactory oil fluid levels and even fuel exhaustion.
"If you're operating an operation like this, 50 aircraft, 60,000 miles per year, if you take our average and another schools' average, we're in a heck of a good shape," Dean said.
Many of the incidents could have been avoided if the pilot checked the gauges, and the planes were properly maintained, according to the reports. Aviation experts say it is ultimately the operator's responsibility to maintain airworthiness.
NBC 6 also found enforcement actions taken by the FAA; the school faced corrections, warnings and fines in the past.
The cause of this week's crash is still under investigation.
A memorial in honor of Ukaere will be held Saturday at Dean International Flight School.
http://www.nbcmiami.com
Cessna 152, N49453: Incident occurred December 06, 2015 in Collier County, Florida
A small plane experiencing mechanical difficulties landed safely Sunday morning on U.S. 41 in eastern Collier County.
The Collier County Sheriff's Office said the plane landed near mile marker 49 in Ochopee after water got into the aircraft's engine.
The pilot was a flight student and the only person onboard, according to the FAA, which said the plane was a single-engine Cessna 152.
No one was injured.
US 41 has since reopened.
Source: http://www.nbc-2.com
The pilot of a Cessna 152 experiencing mechanical difficulties landed safely Sunday morning on U.S. 41 in eastern Collier County.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office received a call around 10:50 a.m. about the plane landing near mile marker 49 on U.S. 41, near the county line.
Karie Partington, a Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, said the pilot was a flight school student flying from the east coast.
The student was the only person onboard.
There was no damage to the plane and the pilot was not injured.
Around noon, the road was temporarily blocked in both direction for emergency vehicles.
The plane eventually restarted and the pilot flew it back out, Partington said.
Source: http://www.naplesnews.com
OCHOPEE, Fla – A mechanical problem leads a student pilot to make an emergency landing on US41. The FAA tells Wink News a Cessna 152 landed in Ochopee around 10:45am. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office says the student is from a school on the East Coast, and he was not injured in the landing. An unknown mechanical problem caused the student pilot to make the decision. There is currently no roadblock.
Source: http://www.winknews.com
A Cessna 152 plane experiencing mechanical difficulties landed safely Sunday morning on U.S. 41 in eastern Collier County. The plane landed near mile marker 49 of U.S. 41, near the county line, around 11:10 a.m., according to a dispatcher. Public information officer Karie Partington said the pilot was a flight student flying from the east coast. The student pilot was the only person in the plane. Collier County sheriff's deputies are on scene. There are no injuries and no damage to the plane. At 12:05 p.m., FDOT reported that traffic in both directions was blocked for emergency vehicles, and motorists should use an alternative route.
Cessna 152, N94292, Air Christian Inc: Accident occurred Sunday, November 13, 2016 in Miami, Florida
The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Air Christian Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N94292
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Miami FSDO-19
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
NTSB Identification: ERA17LA044
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, November 13, 2016 in Miami, FL
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration: N94292
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 13, 2016, about 1400 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N94292, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power near Miami, Florida. The private pilots were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the instructional flight operated by Dean International, Inc., which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.The flight originated at Lakeland Linder Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Florida about 1220, and was destined for Miami Executive Airport (TMB), Miami, Florida.
Each pilot provided a written statement, and both statements were consistent throughout. The pilots described the flight as a "buddy" flight, the purpose of which was to build flight time for each.
The airplane was in cruise flight over the Everglades about 2,000 feet when the crew noted some engine "roughness." They noted that the engine oil temperature was "normal" but the engine oil pressure indication was "low." The pilot on the controls turned the airplane towards the nearest airport, which was 18 miles from its position at that time. Approximately 1 minute later, the engine stopped producing power, and the crew selected a road for the forced landing. During the descent, an engine restart was attempted and was unsuccessful.
The airplane touched down prior to the road on soft, wet ground, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilots egressed the airplane uninjured.
The first pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent first-class medical certificate was issued on September 8, 2015. The pilot reported 212.5 total hours of flight experience, all of which were in the accident airplane make and model.
The second pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. His most recent first-class medical certificate was issued on July 11, 2016. The pilot reported 128.3 total hours of flight experience, all of which were in the accident airplane make and model.
The two-seat, single-engine, high-wing airplane was manufactured in 1982 and was equipped with a Lycoming O-235 series engine. Its most recent 100-hour inspection was completed November 3, 2016 at 10,955 total aircraft hours, and the airplane had accrued 52 hours since that date. An engine overhaul was completed 246 aircraft hours prior to the accident.
During recovery of the airplane, large cracks were noted in the engine crankcase in the vicinity of the number 2 cylinder. The airplane's engine was retained for further examination.
Fearing an alligator attack, two shaken survivors of a plane crash in the Everglades took refuge on Jimmie and Betty Osceola's airboat.
"I told them not to worry about them," Betty Osceola said Monday about swamp reptiles.
She didn't share with the men from India -- whose single engine plane crashed Sunday in far western Broward County -- anything about the water moccasins that live in that part of the swamp.
"They didn't mention the snakes, and I didn't tell them," Betty Osceola said. "They didn't need anything else to worry about."
Pilot Divyank Sejwal and student Preet Kanwar Singh Dhaliwal were in a Cessna 152 aircraft that belongs to Dean International, Inc., a flight school that operates out of Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County.
Robert Dean, owner of the plane and 35-year-old school that attracts about 300 aviation students each year, said something happened with the Cessna's engine. A Federal Aviation Administration investigator was scheduled to visit the crash site Monday, he said.
"We don't know yet," Dean said of a possible cause. "The plane had been reliable in the past."
Of the student and pilot, he said, "They are licensed private pilots. They are trained and did exactly what they were trained to do."
"The pilot did an amazing job," said Dean. "They are safe. The plane will be recovered and our whole goal is to determine what took place and make sure it never happens again."
Betty Osceola, 49, and Jimmie Osceola, 70, of Ochopee in Collier County, own Buffalo Tiger Airboat Tours that is on the Miccosukee Reservation in Miami-Dade County.
"It was a beautiful day, so we decided to tour [Water Conservation Area] 3A," Betty Osceola said.
They steered an airboat toward an area of tree islands, hammocks that are north of Interstate 75 where the tribe has camps and teaches children about the environment. They also take airboat tour customers there.
On Sunday afternoon, they wanted to clear brush and check on the conditions of the islands. The couple skimmed their boat over the sawgrass and beneath the interstate to their destination and awaiting chores.
Later in the afternoon as they headed south toward home, they first noticed the Cessna.
"It was getting lower," Betty Osceola said. "At first I didn't pay attention because you have planes do their flight lessons and we normally see them out there."
As the airboat was about 1.5 miles south of Interstate-75, the couple became concerned.
"The plane just kept getting lower and lower and lower, too low," she said. "It passed over us, heading northeast. My husband didn't see the propeller turning before it crashed. He signaled to make a U-turn."
They were wearing ear protection and couldn't hear if the Cessna's engine had died. She spun the airboat around and at first, couldn't see the plane.
Then, she said, "We saw the tail go up and it landed on the roof."
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue said the Cessna's nose gear hit the swamp before it flipped over.
As the couple raced their airboat to the crash, Betty Osceola said she thought, "Oh Lord, don't let us find dead bodies. If they were still stuck in the plane, our thought was we'd do what we could to get them out."
Instead, the couple saw two men in uniform, standing on a wing. The survivors looked "a little bit stunned," she said. "We asked if they were OK or hurt anywhere, and they said they were OK. But we didn't know if they were in shock."
Luckily there wasn't a fire.
"Thank God," Betty Osceola said. "They were able to get out on their own."
They invited the men to sit on the airboat while the foursome waited for help.
The Osceolas called the tribe's police department because, she said, "They have wildlife officers that patrol the area. They would find us faster than the other police departments, unless you've got helicopters."
The men told the Osceolas the plane wasn't acting right, and it went down before they could get to a highway, Betty Osceola said.
One of the fliers reported the crash in a phone call, she said, "and they thought they were near I-95. If nobody had seen them go down, it would have been a bit before they were found, unless [responders] took the signal off that phone."
But the Osceolas found the crash survivors, in an area where water was about a foot deep, and stayed with them until rescuers arrived.
"I'm glad my husband and I were there at the right time to help them, and that they were OK," Betty Osceola said.
After about 30 minutes, helicopters from Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue circled above.
When Miami-Dade's helicopter landed, one of the responders asked if the airboat was stuck, and if everyone was OK.
Sejwal and Dhaliwal shook the Osceolas' hands and thanked them, Betty Osceola said.
The Miami-Dade helicopter flew the men to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, according to Dean.
He described their survival as "no hospital, no injuries, no scratches. It's amazing."
Betty Osceola said about witnessing a plane crash,"When we got home, the adrenaline was still going. It's not something that I ever wanted to experience. I don't ever want to see that again."
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com
A small Cessna 152 plane made an emergency landing Sunday afternoon off Alligator Alley, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The two men on board were not injured, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said. When the nose gear hit the swamp, the plane flipped over, Jaches said.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue found the downed plane about a mile and a half south of Interstate 75 near mile marker 47, Jachles said.
"The two men told firefighters the plane quit; they lost power," Jachles said.
The men were identified as Preetkanwar Singh Dhaliwal, 20, and Divvank Sejwal, 23. It's unclear which man was the pilot and where the plane was heading. It's also unknown from where the plane took off.
The two-seat aircraft landed about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the FAA said. Fire Rescue received the call about 2:55 p.m., Jachles said.
The plane had 20 gallons on board, Jachles said.
A private airboat and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue assisted in the rescue, Jachles said. A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter flew the two men away from the scene. The FAA is continuing their investigation.
Story and video: http://www.sun-sentinel.com
Dean International Inc: Cessna 172M Skyhawk, N80457, Cessna 152, N94292 and Cessna 152, N49453
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; South Florida
MIAMI, FL — Facing heightened scrutiny after back-to-back plane crashes at public parks in the Miami area, the founder of Dean International Flight School defended his school's safety record on Tuesday and told Patch that the student who died in a July 6 crash disobeyed school safety rules.
Robert Dean also said that the second crash eight days later was caused by debris in the fuel tank and not pilot error.
The school has 50 aircraft and trains more than 350 students per year.
"We are dedicated to keep each and every one of our students and our instructors safe," insisted Dean on Tuesday. He owns the school that experienced the crashes in a span of less than two weeks. The school has graduated some 8,000 pilots from all around the world. "I am an instructor myself and teach my own son in these aircraft."
Both of the crashes appear to have occurred under darkness just 13 days apart. The school is located at Miami Executive Airport, 14150 SW 129th St., Miami.
The student pilot who died was found in a remote area of Everglades National Park along with wreckage from his Cessna 152, single engine aircraft.
The crash site was seven miles west of Homestead in a swampy area, where an alligator was also seen combing the wreckage.
The student was identified as Nigerian-born Mark Ukaere.
The second crash involved a Cessna C172 aircraft that made a late-night emergency landing on a road in Crandon Park after losing power.
The aircraft struck a utility light during its descent.
"The first accident that took place was a pilot that did not follow our basic rules of not flying alone at night and not getting permission to fly," asserted Dean. "This is in our written agreement and signed by every student."
With respect to the Key Biscayne crash, Dean said that debris was blocking fuel from getting to the engine.
"We do not do our own fueling and pay other companies to to do it," he explained.
Federal Aviation Administration records obtained by Patch reveal that the school experienced a total of 23 safety incidents between March 2007 and November 2016 prior to the two most recent incidents.
In the case of the Key Biscayne crash, Dean said that the instructor and pilot followed proper protocol.
"The instructor and the pilot did exactly what we train for and walked away with a minor nose scratch," he explained. "Our ratio of accidents is far less than the other schools at our airport. Our aircraft do approximately 50,000 flight hours per year compared to other schools that operate 10 to 15 aircraft per year and do 10,000 to 12,000 hours per year."
Dean said that his staff does everything it can to prevent accidents like the two that happened in recent weeks.
"We have the best flight school and maintenance department," he added. "We continue to strive for no accidents or incidents and pray for all students and instructors to follow the rules that we have in place to keep us all safe and sound."
https://patch.com
Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov.
Cessna 152, N49453, Air Christian Inc: Fatal accident occurred near Homestead General Aviation Airport (X51), Miami-Dade County, Florida
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; South Florida
Air Christian Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N49453
Aircraft crashed into a swamp area. The one (1) soul on board was fatally injured. Subject of an alert notice. Wreckage located seven (7) miles from Homestead, Florida.
Date: 06-JUL-17
Time: 06:09:00Z
Regis#: N49453
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: C152
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: UNKNOWN
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
City: HOMESTEAD
State: FLORIDA
Mercy Akinyemi: Pilot said he flew alone because flight instructor was a no-show
MIAMI-DADE, Fla. - While flying a Cessna 152, Mark Ukaere sent pictures to his girlfriend, Mercy Akinyemi, before crashing in the Florida Everglades.
Akinyemi, who lives in New Jersey, said she warned him that it was getting dark. He sent her selfies from the cockpit on Saturday.
"I asked him why he did you have to fly alone. You just landed without anyone," Akinyemi said. "He said the guy never showed up. His instructor never showed up."
It would be the last pictures he would send her. Ukaere, 29, died. Authorities found his body on Wednesday. Alligators preyed upon his remains.
"Right now, everyone is confused. Everyone is devastated," Akinyemi said.
The plane belonging to Dean Flight Training was destroyed. Ukaere, a licensed pilot, was working on an advanced certification.
Robert Dean, the flight school's owner, attributed the cause of the crash to spatial disorientation due to the darkness of the night over the Everglades.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.
https://www.local10.com
An alligator can be seen next to the body of the victim, which is blurred.
Mark Ukaere
The ex girlfriend of Mark Ukaere apologizes to him.
SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A small airplane was found in the Everglades, along with the body of a pilot, after the plane had gone missing, Wednesday night.
According to Miami-Dade Police, they received a call from the owner of Dean International Flight School regarding the missing plane at 10:19 p.m., Wednesday, and dispatched an Air Rescue unit.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said a downed Cessna 152 single-engine airplane was later found at 1:58 a.m., Thursday, in an area seven miles west of Homestead General Aviation.
Police said the pilot’s body was found near the wreckage. Officials have yet to identify the deceased pilot, but roommates of Mark Ukaere, a student at the flight school, said they fear he is the pilot killed in the crash.
Ukaere’s roommates said he is a licensed pilot who has been continuing his training. He has been missing since Saturday night.
According to Robert Dean, the owner of the flight school, the pilot took off without permission at 8:50 p.m. “The individual was qualified to fly the aircraft, but he broke every single company policy,” he said.
Dean said they conducted their own search before contacting the FBI, Wednesday morning. “In our minds, we thought that he had already taken off, and he was doing what’s called a solo cross country,” he said. “Sunday went by. People went looking for the aircraft but could not find it, and then Tuesday was the holiday, the Fourth of July.”
Moreover, Dean said, Ukaere was not supposed to be flying in the dark without a co-pilot.
A trainer at the school said flying solo should only come after years of experience. “You take your time, you log your hours, but those hours do not really guarantee the right experience or the right to control the aircraft,” he said. “Some people get it in 20, some people get it in 60. So it is really sad, but it is not discouraging at all because it is motivation to investigate that occurrence — what happened, what was the effect of it and to learn from it.”
http://wsvn.com
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – In the Everglades, west of Homestead, a small plane could be seen from the air mangled in an apparent crash dive.
The scene is infused with alligators and accessible only by airboat.
The plane, a Cessna 152, was occupied by just the pilot who was apparently killed outright.
Mark Ukaere, from Nigeria, was an advanced student at Miami Executive Airport’s Dean Flight Training school, his fellow students told CBS4’s Gary Nelson. Ukaere did not have any family in South Florida.
The school’s owner, Robert Dean, said Ukaere took off in the plane Saturday night without telling anyone.
“He decided to go fly, himself,” said Dean. “He basically took the aircraft away from here without any authorization.”
Dean said Ukaere, who crashed into the Everglades muck, was well aware of rules against solo night flights.
“The individual is qualified to fly the aircraft, but he broke company policy. They are required to fly at night with two pilots on board,” Dean said.
The requirement is for good reason. Pilots not fully instrument-qualified can easily lose their bearings at night.
Ukaere, a licensed pilot, was working on getting his instrument rating.
“You go out there in the pitch dark and you basically have spatial disorientation,” Dean said. “So what happened is he took off and he went into what is basically called a black hole.”
Knowing the danger, why did the company not report the plane and its pilot missing for four days?
“In our minds, we thought that he had taken off and he was doing what is called a solo cross-country,” Dean said.
It was not until after the July 4th holiday, when Ukaere had not returned, and the plane couldn’t be located at any airport around the state, that the company reported it missing.
A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter found it in the swamp hours later.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Miami-Dade homicide detectives are handling the death investigation.
Various local and federal agencies, as of Thursday afternoon, could not say what, if any, civil or criminal liability the company might face for the delay in reporting its aircraft missing.
http://miami.cbslocal.com
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine Cessna 152 was found in a swampy area about seven miles west of Homestead.
The FAA said the pilot was the only person on board.
Miami-Dade police Detective Argemis Colome said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue found the wreckage at about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
A view from Sky 10 showed a body in the swamp next to the wreckage. An alligator was wading next to the body.
The plane was registered to Air Christian Inc. in Miami. The same plane was forced to make an emergency landing on U.S. Highway 41 in Collier County in December 2015.
A logo for Dean International Flight Training & Aircraft Rentals was on the side of the plane. The company is based at Miami Executive Airport.
Local 10 News reporter Liane Morejon spoke to the flight school's owner, who said the pilot took off on an unauthorized solo flight at 8:40 p.m. Saturday.
Robert Dean said he called different places he thought the pilot might have gone to and people who might have been with him before contacting the FBI Wednesday night.
The business owner said he believes the pilot suffered from spatial disorientation as he flew in pitch darkness over the Everglades.
FAA and National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived at the scene Thursday morning.
https://www.local10.com
A pilot was killed after his Cessna 152 single-engine plane crashed deep in the Everglades Wednesday night, authorities said.
A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue air unit first spotted the plane wreckage around 10:20 p.m. with a body alongside the debris, police spokesman Argemis Colome said. Fire Rescue then alerted Miami-Dade police, but because of the conditions authorities decided to wait till morning to go out to the scene, he said.
The crash is “so far into the Everglades that they might have to take airboats,” said Colome. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash happened about seven miles west of Homestead. The pilot was the only person on the plane.
The plane that crashed had been housed at Miami Executive Airport, Colome added, though he said officers were still investigating when the plane had taken off. The pilot’s identity was not released.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the agency is investigating the crash, and the National Transportation Safety Board is determining what caused the aircraft to go down.
http://www.miamiherald.com
MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — One person is dead following a plane crash in the Florida Everglades.
According to CBS Miami, the FAA said the plane was reported missing Wednesday night after it left Miami Executive Airport.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews found the plane Thursday morning in a swampy area about seven miles west of Homestead, said the Federal Aviation Administration in statement to CBS Miami.
The pilot hasn't been identified.
Authorities say the plane is registered to Air Christian Inc., of Miami.
http://cbs12.com
MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — One person is dead following a plane crash in the Florida Everglades.
According to CBS Miami, the FAA said the plane was reported missing Wednesday night after it left Miami Executive Airport.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews found the plane Thursday morning in a swampy area about seven miles west of Homestead, said the Federal Aviation Administration in statement to CBS Miami.
The pilot hasn't been identified.
Authorities say the plane is registered to Air Christian Inc., of Miami.
http://cbs12.com
The Cessna 152 was found about seven miles west of Homestead, the FAA said in a statement. Only the pilot was on board.
Footage appeared to show the pilot's body amid the wreckage.
No information was released about how the plane got in the swampy area. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are en route to begin their investigation.
http://www.nbcmiami.com
One week after the body of a pilot who trained at a South Florida aviation school was discovered near a downed plane, another plane from that same school made a crash landing in Key Biscayne.
The two people on board were no seriously injured in Friday’s incident. The crash was the most recent in an unusually high pattern of incidents originating from Dean International Flight School. Last week, Mark Ukaere was killed when his unauthorized flight crashed in the Everglades. Ukaere’s body was discovered near the plane with an alligator creeping close by.
One week later, most of the school’s planes were temporarily out of service, NBC 6 exclusively confirmed. Thirty-nine out of 50 planes were place into maintenance, at least nine by the order of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Some of the maintenance work is routine, but others include rudder issues, faulty brakes and loose or missing screws.
In an exclusive interview, the owner of the Dean International told NBC 6 the bigger the school, the more issues.
"If you're operating an operation like this, 50 aircraft, 60,000 miles per year, if you take our average and another schools' average, we're in a heck of a good shape," owner Robert Dean said.
NBC 6 uncovered and sifted a stack of documents obtained by the FAA and the National Transportation and Safety Board, which showed lengthy reports of planes that went down. Since 2007, the school logged a total of 29 accidents or incident – including 5 fatalities.
Dean defended the school, saying that despite the issues many students attend the school because it is one of the best aviation centers.
Watch Video: http://www.nbcmiami.com
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miami, Florida
C & G Aircraft Parts Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N80457
Aircraft force landed on a road.
Date: 14-JUL-17
Time: 03:20:00Z
Regis#: N80457
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: C172
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: MINOR
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: INSTRUCTION
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
City: KEY BISCAYNE
State: FLORIDA
When a small Cessna 172 airplane crash-landed in Key Biscayne after its engine reportedly lost power late Thursday night, the forced landing broke one pilot’s nose and snapped the strut supporting the plane’s right wing. As the plane careened along Crandon Boulevard as its impromptu runway, it crashed into a light pole and then a tree, police said.
But both men on that flight — a flight instructor and his student — survived the crash. It was the second in as many weeks linked to Dean International Flight School in Miami, after a plane crash in the Everglades killed another student pilot from the school earlier this month.
Both accidents follow a checkered history for the flight school, which has had more than two dozen prior incidents or accidents logged with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board in the last 10 years, records show.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesman Jorge Lafarga said officers were alerted to the Key Biscayne crash around 11:20 p.m. Thursday, and that Key Biscayne police and Miami-Dade police helped respond at the scene. The two men in the plane had only minor injuries, and one was taken to the hospital, police said.
The aircraft had taken off from Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach and was headed for Miami Executive Airport before it was forced to land, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in an email.
NTSB investigator Tim Monville said the damage to the small plane was extensive enough to classify it as an accident, but that an investigation was just beginning. The FAA is also investigating the crash, Bergen said.
Though the plane was registered to C&G Aircraft Parts Inc., the tail of the plane bore Dean International’s name, partially masked with white tape. The address on FAA record for C&G Aircraft Parts Inc. is the same as the address for Air Christian Inc., the registered owner of another plane linked to Dean International that crashed in early July.
That plane, a Cessna 152 single-engine craft, disappeared July 1 after a student pilot with Dean International took off alone from Miami Executive Airport that evening, police said. The school’s owner, Robert Dean, reported the craft missing to the FAA the following Wednesday, four days later. The plane’s wreckage was spotted in the Everglades about seven miles west of Homestead later that night after an alert for the craft was sent out.
When rescue crews finally made it through the swampy landscape to recover that plane, they found a craft that had been functionally destroyed, Monville said. “The cockpit was fragmented, both wings were heavily damaged, the tail was broken off, but attached by cables.”
The pilot, whom news outlets later identified as Mark Ukaere, had been studying for an advanced certification at Dean International, according to roommates. He had been licensed to fly the craft but violated a flight school policy forbidding flying alone, Dean told Local 10.
Ukaere wasn’t the first pilot fatality in Dean International’s history. FAA records showed the school had more than two dozen prior accidents or incidents in the last 10 years, including a fatality in 2014 when a student pilot crashed into the water off Elliott Key and died. Two were injured in 2007 when a plane trying to make an emergency landing crashed into power lines and landed upside-down.
The FAA took action more than half a dozen times, issuing warning notices and fines to the school, records showed. The reports cited multiple issues in those cases, including failed pre-flight inspections and insufficient maintenance of fuel and oil fluid levels.
A preliminary report on the plane that crashed in the Everglades is still pending, but Monville said that initial tests of the emergency locator transmitter had showed it did not send out a signal.
Dean, the flight school’s owner, did not return calls for comment Friday. He defended his school’s flying record to NBC6, which previously reported on the flight school’s history, though he acknowledged that his school’s history of accidents was higher than average.
“If you’re operating an operation like this, 50 aircraft, 60,000 miles per year, if you take our average and another schools’ average, we’re in a heck of a good shape,” Dean told the station.
Multiple passersby who saw the crashed plane in Key Biscayne Friday said those on board were lucky to have survived. As Downtown Towing pulled the wreckage of the plane into a street off the main boulevard on Friday afternoon, some tourists took photos and passengers in cars inching by rolled down their windows for a better look. The plane’s wings were separated from the body, and a light pole and no turns street sign were knocked over.
Leonardo Caldreron, 50, said he was thankful no one had been seriously hurt in the crash — and impressed the pilot had landed the plane given the narrowness of the road and the many trees lining it.
“I’m surprised it didn’t catch on fire,” he said. “I was trying to look for skid marks.”
http://www.miamiherald.com
Two men inside a small plane survived after it crashed Thursday night on Key Biscayne’s main road.
Police and fire rescue agencies were called at 11:18 p.m. to the Cessna C172 single-engine aircraft.
It collided with a tree in the 4000 block of Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne Police Chief Charles Press said.
“No other vehicles or people were involved,” Press said. “Everyone walked away from the crash.”
The plane, built in 1976, “reportedly lost power,” an FAA spokeswoman said in an email Friday. It had taken off from Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach and was destined for Miami Executive Airport, but landed instead on the island that is east of Miami. The FAA will investigate the crash, she said.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was joined at the scene by Key Biscayne Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade Police.
“There was no fire and the crash survivors had minor injuries,” said Lt. Felipe Lay of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. “One was taken to a hospital.”
The crash site is near the tennis center where the Miami Open international tournament is played.
“Traffic obviously was affected to a small degree,” Press said. “But it was late. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, and it’s moving normally today.”
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were notified, the fire official said. A light pole was knocked out of its base and Florida Power & Light came to fix it.
“I think it was more of a safety issue rather than for a power outage,” Lay said.
The plane is registered to C&G Aircraft Parts Inc., in Miami. On its tail was an ad for a flight school, Dean International.
On July 5, a crashed Cessna 152 plane registered to Air Christian Inc., was discovered in the Everglades, seven miles west of Homestead. It was linked to Dean International Flight School at Miami Executive Airport, according to records.
The body of the pilot, the only person aboard, was found next to the wreckage, authorities said.
“The aircraft went missing from Miami Executive Airport [July 1],” FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said at that time.
On July 3, the plane’s owner alerted the FAA that it was missing, she said. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s aviation unit found the crash scene.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating that crash.
Robert Dean, of the flight school, was on vacation and not available to comment, a staffer said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com
Radar image of the flight path of a plane before it crashed in The Everglades, killing the pilot.
It was a shocking discovery in the depths of the Everglades Thursday morning: A man's body was found next to a mangled plane as a gator crept nearby.
The pilot-in-training, identified as Mark Ukaere, went on an unauthorized flight and crashed in the murky waters, officials said. It was later revealed that the plane went missing from the Dean International Flight School Saturday, but wasn't reported missing until four days later.
NBC 6 analyzed reports that reveal past problems at the aviation school. NBC 6 also obtained an exclusive radar image highlighting the deadly flight path into the Everglades.
Robert Dean runs the aviation center from Miami Executive Airport. The school houses 50 aircraft and logs 60,000 miles per year.
"The reason there's so many children, so many kids at this school is because of our safety record, because of the way we maintain the planes," Dean told NBC 6. "The pilots, the captains who fly, all send their kids. Why? Because this is one of the best schools."
However, Dean admits his school has higher instances of accidents and issues than most other schools.
NBC 6 obtained reports by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration of downed planes at Dean International. Since 2007, a total of 29 accidents or incidents have been documented, including five fatalities.
The reports reveal other issues such as failed pre-flight inspections, loss of engine power, unsatisfactory oil fluid levels and even fuel exhaustion.
"If you're operating an operation like this, 50 aircraft, 60,000 miles per year, if you take our average and another schools' average, we're in a heck of a good shape," Dean said.
Many of the incidents could have been avoided if the pilot checked the gauges, and the planes were properly maintained, according to the reports. Aviation experts say it is ultimately the operator's responsibility to maintain airworthiness.
NBC 6 also found enforcement actions taken by the FAA; the school faced corrections, warnings and fines in the past.
The cause of this week's crash is still under investigation.
A memorial in honor of Ukaere will be held Saturday at Dean International Flight School.
http://www.nbcmiami.com
Cessna 152, N49453: Incident occurred December 06, 2015 in Collier County, Florida
A small plane experiencing mechanical difficulties landed safely Sunday morning on U.S. 41 in eastern Collier County.
The Collier County Sheriff's Office said the plane landed near mile marker 49 in Ochopee after water got into the aircraft's engine.
The pilot was a flight student and the only person onboard, according to the FAA, which said the plane was a single-engine Cessna 152.
No one was injured.
US 41 has since reopened.
Source: http://www.nbc-2.com
The pilot of a Cessna 152 experiencing mechanical difficulties landed safely Sunday morning on U.S. 41 in eastern Collier County.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office received a call around 10:50 a.m. about the plane landing near mile marker 49 on U.S. 41, near the county line.
Karie Partington, a Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, said the pilot was a flight school student flying from the east coast.
The student was the only person onboard.
There was no damage to the plane and the pilot was not injured.
Around noon, the road was temporarily blocked in both direction for emergency vehicles.
The plane eventually restarted and the pilot flew it back out, Partington said.
Source: http://www.naplesnews.com
OCHOPEE, Fla – A mechanical problem leads a student pilot to make an emergency landing on US41. The FAA tells Wink News a Cessna 152 landed in Ochopee around 10:45am. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office says the student is from a school on the East Coast, and he was not injured in the landing. An unknown mechanical problem caused the student pilot to make the decision. There is currently no roadblock.
Source: http://www.winknews.com
A Cessna 152 plane experiencing mechanical difficulties landed safely Sunday morning on U.S. 41 in eastern Collier County. The plane landed near mile marker 49 of U.S. 41, near the county line, around 11:10 a.m., according to a dispatcher. Public information officer Karie Partington said the pilot was a flight student flying from the east coast. The student pilot was the only person in the plane. Collier County sheriff's deputies are on scene. There are no injuries and no damage to the plane. At 12:05 p.m., FDOT reported that traffic in both directions was blocked for emergency vehicles, and motorists should use an alternative route.
Cessna 152, N94292, Air Christian Inc: Accident occurred Sunday, November 13, 2016 in Miami, Florida
The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Miami FSDO-19
Aviation Accident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
NTSB Identification: ERA17LA044
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Sunday, November 13, 2016 in Miami, FL
Aircraft: CESSNA 152, registration: N94292
Injuries: 2 Uninjured.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On November 13, 2016, about 1400 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 152, N94292, was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a total loss of engine power near Miami, Florida. The private pilots were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed for the instructional flight operated by Dean International, Inc., which was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.The flight originated at Lakeland Linder Airport (LAL), Lakeland, Florida about 1220, and was destined for Miami Executive Airport (TMB), Miami, Florida.
Each pilot provided a written statement, and both statements were consistent throughout. The pilots described the flight as a "buddy" flight, the purpose of which was to build flight time for each.
The airplane was in cruise flight over the Everglades about 2,000 feet when the crew noted some engine "roughness." They noted that the engine oil temperature was "normal" but the engine oil pressure indication was "low." The pilot on the controls turned the airplane towards the nearest airport, which was 18 miles from its position at that time. Approximately 1 minute later, the engine stopped producing power, and the crew selected a road for the forced landing. During the descent, an engine restart was attempted and was unsuccessful.
The airplane touched down prior to the road on soft, wet ground, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilots egressed the airplane uninjured.
The first pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent first-class medical certificate was issued on September 8, 2015. The pilot reported 212.5 total hours of flight experience, all of which were in the accident airplane make and model.
The second pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. His most recent first-class medical certificate was issued on July 11, 2016. The pilot reported 128.3 total hours of flight experience, all of which were in the accident airplane make and model.
The two-seat, single-engine, high-wing airplane was manufactured in 1982 and was equipped with a Lycoming O-235 series engine. Its most recent 100-hour inspection was completed November 3, 2016 at 10,955 total aircraft hours, and the airplane had accrued 52 hours since that date. An engine overhaul was completed 246 aircraft hours prior to the accident.
During recovery of the airplane, large cracks were noted in the engine crankcase in the vicinity of the number 2 cylinder. The airplane's engine was retained for further examination.
Fearing an alligator attack, two shaken survivors of a plane crash in the Everglades took refuge on Jimmie and Betty Osceola's airboat.
"I told them not to worry about them," Betty Osceola said Monday about swamp reptiles.
She didn't share with the men from India -- whose single engine plane crashed Sunday in far western Broward County -- anything about the water moccasins that live in that part of the swamp.
"They didn't mention the snakes, and I didn't tell them," Betty Osceola said. "They didn't need anything else to worry about."
Pilot Divyank Sejwal and student Preet Kanwar Singh Dhaliwal were in a Cessna 152 aircraft that belongs to Dean International, Inc., a flight school that operates out of Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County.
Robert Dean, owner of the plane and 35-year-old school that attracts about 300 aviation students each year, said something happened with the Cessna's engine. A Federal Aviation Administration investigator was scheduled to visit the crash site Monday, he said.
"We don't know yet," Dean said of a possible cause. "The plane had been reliable in the past."
Of the student and pilot, he said, "They are licensed private pilots. They are trained and did exactly what they were trained to do."
"The pilot did an amazing job," said Dean. "They are safe. The plane will be recovered and our whole goal is to determine what took place and make sure it never happens again."
Betty Osceola, 49, and Jimmie Osceola, 70, of Ochopee in Collier County, own Buffalo Tiger Airboat Tours that is on the Miccosukee Reservation in Miami-Dade County.
"It was a beautiful day, so we decided to tour [Water Conservation Area] 3A," Betty Osceola said.
They steered an airboat toward an area of tree islands, hammocks that are north of Interstate 75 where the tribe has camps and teaches children about the environment. They also take airboat tour customers there.
On Sunday afternoon, they wanted to clear brush and check on the conditions of the islands. The couple skimmed their boat over the sawgrass and beneath the interstate to their destination and awaiting chores.
Later in the afternoon as they headed south toward home, they first noticed the Cessna.
"It was getting lower," Betty Osceola said. "At first I didn't pay attention because you have planes do their flight lessons and we normally see them out there."
As the airboat was about 1.5 miles south of Interstate-75, the couple became concerned.
"The plane just kept getting lower and lower and lower, too low," she said. "It passed over us, heading northeast. My husband didn't see the propeller turning before it crashed. He signaled to make a U-turn."
They were wearing ear protection and couldn't hear if the Cessna's engine had died. She spun the airboat around and at first, couldn't see the plane.
Then, she said, "We saw the tail go up and it landed on the roof."
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue said the Cessna's nose gear hit the swamp before it flipped over.
As the couple raced their airboat to the crash, Betty Osceola said she thought, "Oh Lord, don't let us find dead bodies. If they were still stuck in the plane, our thought was we'd do what we could to get them out."
Instead, the couple saw two men in uniform, standing on a wing. The survivors looked "a little bit stunned," she said. "We asked if they were OK or hurt anywhere, and they said they were OK. But we didn't know if they were in shock."
Luckily there wasn't a fire.
"Thank God," Betty Osceola said. "They were able to get out on their own."
They invited the men to sit on the airboat while the foursome waited for help.
The Osceolas called the tribe's police department because, she said, "They have wildlife officers that patrol the area. They would find us faster than the other police departments, unless you've got helicopters."
The men told the Osceolas the plane wasn't acting right, and it went down before they could get to a highway, Betty Osceola said.
One of the fliers reported the crash in a phone call, she said, "and they thought they were near I-95. If nobody had seen them go down, it would have been a bit before they were found, unless [responders] took the signal off that phone."
But the Osceolas found the crash survivors, in an area where water was about a foot deep, and stayed with them until rescuers arrived.
"I'm glad my husband and I were there at the right time to help them, and that they were OK," Betty Osceola said.
After about 30 minutes, helicopters from Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue circled above.
When Miami-Dade's helicopter landed, one of the responders asked if the airboat was stuck, and if everyone was OK.
Sejwal and Dhaliwal shook the Osceolas' hands and thanked them, Betty Osceola said.
The Miami-Dade helicopter flew the men to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, according to Dean.
He described their survival as "no hospital, no injuries, no scratches. It's amazing."
Betty Osceola said about witnessing a plane crash,"When we got home, the adrenaline was still going. It's not something that I ever wanted to experience. I don't ever want to see that again."
Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com
A small Cessna 152 plane made an emergency landing Sunday afternoon off Alligator Alley, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The two men on board were not injured, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said. When the nose gear hit the swamp, the plane flipped over, Jaches said.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue found the downed plane about a mile and a half south of Interstate 75 near mile marker 47, Jachles said.
"The two men told firefighters the plane quit; they lost power," Jachles said.
The men were identified as Preetkanwar Singh Dhaliwal, 20, and Divvank Sejwal, 23. It's unclear which man was the pilot and where the plane was heading. It's also unknown from where the plane took off.
The two-seat aircraft landed about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the FAA said. Fire Rescue received the call about 2:55 p.m., Jachles said.
The plane had 20 gallons on board, Jachles said.
A private airboat and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue assisted in the rescue, Jachles said. A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue helicopter flew the two men away from the scene. The FAA is continuing their investigation.
Story and video: http://www.sun-sentinel.com
Dean International Inc: Cessna 172M Skyhawk, N80457, Cessna 152, N94292 and Cessna 152, N49453
Inbound to Tamiami aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances.
http://registry.faa.gov/N6198Q
Time: 02:41:00Z
Regis#: N6198Q
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 152
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: SERIOUS
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: UNKNOWN
Flight Phase: APPROACH (APR)
Operation: 91
City: EVERGLADES
State: FLORIDA
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Two people were rushed to the hospital after a small plane went down in the Everglades.
It happened just before 11:30 p.m. Thursday west of U.S. 27 and Krome Avenue.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was the first to reach the scene. A medic lowered from a helicopter spotted one person trapped under the twisted metal from the plane. He then spotted a second person who was also trapped, but alive, under the wreck and in knee-deep waters. A second medic was lowered to help move the wreckage. A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue airboat arrived and its crew helped free the two men who were trapped.
“We’re in the swamp, six to seven-foot high sawgrass, four feet of water, and jagged metal,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lt. Derrick Caballero. “Little by little we would lift up the wreckage and pull the victims out and get them free from the wreckage.”
The pilot and passenger of the Cessna 152 were then airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center where they were listed as stable.
A check of the FAA registry shows the plane was registered to Dean International, a flight school and aircraft rental company which operates out of Miami Executive Airport.
Last July one of Dean International’s students, Mark Ukaere from Nigeria, was killed when the Cessna 152 he was flying crashed in the Everglades.
Ukaere took off in the plane without telling anyone, according to flight school owner Ian Robert Dean. He speculated that Ukaere, who was flying at night, suffered spatial disorientation which he likened to flying in a black hole. He added that pilots not fully instrument-qualified can easily lose their bearings at night.
“The individual was qualified but he broke every single company policy,” said Dean. “They’re required to fly at night with two pilots on board.”
Ukaere, a licensed pilot, was working on getting his instrument rating.
Marshall Jones owns Mack’s Fish Camp. Some of the rescue boats took off last night from his docks. He strongly believes weather was a factor in the crash because he was out in his airboat in the middle of the same storm Thursday night.
“There was a blinding rain storm that came in, it was a small cell but very, very aggressive rainstorm,” he said. “It’s just an absolute miracle that they’re both alive.”
Jones said the uninhabited near his camp is popular for pilot training flights.
“Three aircraft have gone down within a five square mile area in just the last two years, in that same area,” he said.
Those who survived the crashes and other threats to contend with including mosquitoes, spiders, scorpions, snakes, alligators.
“Both crash victims were extremely lucky that the responding agency was able to find them so fast,” he said.
“The biggest thing is that if we hadn’t found them we wouldn’t have been able to extricate them from the wreckage,” said Caballero.
The U.S. Coast Guard assisted lowering one of the paramedics at the crash scene.
The FAA will investigate the crash and the National Transportation Safety Board will try to determine what cause it.
http://miami.cbslocal.com
Two people were rushed to the hospital after the small plane they were in crashed into the Everglades in Miami-Dade County.
Crews from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue as well as Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, responded to the scene west of Okeechobee Road and Krome Avenue - near the line between Miami-Dade and Broward - just before 11 p.m., with responders having to be lowered by helicopter to the scene miles west of the roadway.
The FAA said the Cessna 152 aircraft was traveling to Miami Executive Airport when it crashed, saying they will investigate along with the NTSB.
The two people were airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center, where they are in stable condition, according to Miami-Dade Police.
The owner of Mack's Fishing Camp, located 15 miles east of where the crash took place, said a blinding rainstorm had come in not long before.
"It was a small cell but very very aggressive rainstorm that came through at approximately 9:40 pm and was about a 15-20 minute long storm that had 30-40 mile an hour gusts," said Marshall Jones.
Jones said if it weren't for the current drought, the two people inside could have drowned, adding he has participated in similar operations in the area over the last five years.
"If they were trying to move away from the aircraft, which is never a suggested idea, if they were trying to move away from the aircraft seeking help they could run across an alligator that could be very defensive," he added.
Chopper 6 was over the scene Friday morning, showing the wreckage of the plane with the name of a local flight school, Dean International, on the side. A pilot onboard a plane owned by the same company died in a crash last summer in the Everglades near Homestead.
NBC 6 obtained reports by the National Transportation and Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration of downed planes at Dean International. Since 2007, a total of 29 accidents or incidents have been documented, including five fatalities.
https://www.nbcmiami.com
Two people are hospitalized after the small plane they were riding crashed into the pitch-black, rain-swept Everglades late Thursday night.
Air traffic controllers reported that a plane went down west of Okeechobee Road and Krome Avenue near the Miami-Dade and Broward County line around 11:50 p.m.
Rescue crews from both counties responded to the call but a storm moving through the area initially made the search and rescue more difficult. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded with air, land and water crews, including the deployment of an airboat and a helicopter.
Using night vision goggles, the Miami-Dade rescue crew saw two people trapped within the mangled plane, which was in two pieces in a swampy area, dwarfed by sawgrass.
A flight medic was lowered to the wreckage site and saw movement from one of the individuals who was "heavily trapped" under the twisted metal, Miami-Dade Fire said. The medic also spotted a second person trapped under the wreckage and in knee-deep water.
A second medic, lowered to the crash site from the helicopter, assisted to help manually lift the plane to extricate the two survivors. Rescuers were joined by medics aboard a Miami-Dade Fire airboat and a Coast Guard helicopter.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna 152 aircraft was traveling to Miami Executive Airport before it crashed. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The two as-yet unidentified people were airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center and are in stable condition.
The 1981 Cessna 152 single-engine, two-seat plane is registered to Rob Wes Inc. of Miami.
Footage from the wreckage shows that the plane is marked with the name Dean International Flight School in blue lettering.
"It’s just an absolute miracle that they're both alive," Dean Flight School owner Ian Robert Dean told Miami Herald news partner CBS4.
The Miami flight school has had more than two dozen prior incidents or accidents logged with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board since 2007, records show.
These include a small Cessna 172 airplane that crash-landed in Key Biscayne last July, injuring a student pilot.
In the 29 listed incidents filed with the FAA, five fatalities were reported — including a pilot, flying solo on a Cessna 152 single-engine plane registered to Dean International who died in July in a crash deep into the Everglades about seven miles west of Homestead.
http://www.miamiherald.com
Two people were rushed to the hospital after the small plane they were on crash into the Everglades in Miami-Dade County.
Crews from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue as well as Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue, responded to the scene west of Okeechobee Road and Krome Avenue just before 11 p.m., with responders having to be lowered by helicopter to the scene miles west of the roadway.
The two people were airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center, where their conditions and identity are not known at this time.
Chopper 6 was over the scene Friday morning, showing the wreckage of the plane with the name of a local flight school, Dean International, on the side. A pilot onboard a plane owned by the same company died in a crash last summer in the Everglades near Homestead.
NBC 6 obtained reports from the National Transportation and Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration of downed planes at Dean International. Since 2007, a total of 29 accidents or incidents have been documented, including five fatalities.
https://www.wptv.com
Two people were rescued after a small plane crashed in the Everglades in northwest Miami-Dade late Thursday night, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane went down about 15 miles west of the Broward and Miami-Dade county line at 10:41 p.m., said spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.
Crews from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue flew two people to Kendall Regional Medical Center.
The Cessna 152 was flying into Miami Executive Airport, Bergen said.
Find out what would happen if you add the wrong fuel to your tank.
The darkness and absence of roads in the area made it difficult for emergency responders to find the wreckage and rescue the pilot and passenger, police said.
There was no immediate word on their conditions.
The FAA will investigate and the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the cause of the crash.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miami, Florida
Aircraft on taxi, wingtip struck a pole.
Date: 02-MAR-16
Time: 15:00:00Z
Regis#: N6198Q
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 152
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Unknown
Flight Phase: TAXI (TXI)
City: PUNTA GORDA
State: Florida
