Monday, April 18, 2016

Piper PA-28-161 Warrior III, N151DC, Flight Safety International: Accident occurred April 18, 2016 near Vero Beach Municipal Airport (KVRB) , Florida

Flight Safety International: http://registry.faa.gov/N151DC

FAA Flight Standards District Office:  FAA Orlando FSDO-15


NTSB Identification: ERA16LA164
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Monday, April 18, 2016 in Okeechobee, FL
Aircraft: PIPER PA28, registration: N151DC
Injuries: 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 April 18, 2016, about 1530 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, N151DC, was substantially damaged after a complete loss of engine power during cruise flight, which resulted in a forced landing to a farm field near Okeechobee, Florida. The student pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated by Flight Safety International, Inc as a solo instructional flight .Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Naples Municipal Airport (APF), Naples, Florida destined for Vero Beach Municipal Airport (VRB), Vero Beach, Florida. The flight was conducted under the provisions of Title14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The pilot stated that the preflight inspection, run-up and departure were normal and that the first half of the flight was uneventful. Approximately 12 miles northeast of Okeechobee, Florida at an altitude of 3,000 feet mean sea level, the engine suddenly started to run rough and was accompanied by abnormal engine noises. The cockpit engine instruments remained in the normal range. The pilot performed the "engine roughness" checklist, but it did not resolve the problem. 

The pilot contacted the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center, and was provided with vectors to the St Lucie County International Airport (FPR), where emergency services would be standing by. Before he was able to divert, the engine experienced a rapid and complete loss of engine power. The pilot established the best glide speed and prepared for a forced landing to a small grass field. As he maneuvered for landing, he attempted to restart the engine, but power could not be restored. 

After touchdown, the airplane collided with parked farm equipment and structures shearing off both wings. He evacuated the airplane.
The airplane had accrued 4,557 flight hours and 3 hours since the last AAIP inspection on April 15, 2016.

The wreckage was retained by the NTSB for further examination.



ST. LUCIE COUNTY — The plane that crashed Monday in rural western St. Lucie County is registered to FlightSafety International Inc. in Vero Beach, according to officials and information from the Federal Aviation Administration.

St. Lucie County Fire District crews were called at 3:35 p.m. Monday to the incident in the 34100 block of Orange Avenue, near the Okeechobee County line, Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney said.

The 23-year-old pilot, Panqi Wang, had nonlife-threatening injuries. His address is listed as FlightSafety International, in the 2800 block of Airport Drive, where he is a student.

The aviation training school has a learning center that operates out of Vero Beach Regional Airport, and there is a building of apartments for students. It has learning centers around the United States, in Canada, France and Great Britain.

According to numbers on the fuselage researched through the FAA website, the plane is registered to FlightSafety International Inc. on Airport Drive in Vero Beach. It is a single-engine Piper made in 2001.

The company would not comment about the crash Tuesday, said Stephanie Lowery, FlightSafety’s manager of student services.

The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said Wang was attempting to land at the Blue Goose Growers’ private airstrip. The left wing of the plane struck a backhoe, the Sheriff’s Office said. Then the plane hit some empty chemical containers and a pickup before crashing into a barn, deputies said. 

Wang told deputies the plane had an engine failure, according to an incident report.

Chaney said the crash occurred a good distance south of Orange Avenue.

Original article can be found here:  http://www.tcpalm.com




SAINT LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. —A small aircraft crashed Monday in western Saint Lucie County, firefighters reported.

The small plane, a Piper PA-28, clipped a barn as it was making an emergency landing, officials said.

The landing was reported at 34151 Orange Avenue in Fort Pierce.

The location of the crash landing is a field west of Vero Beach airport.

The 23-year-old pilot was having mechanical issues, according to investigators. He tried to make an emergency landing in an orange grove but failed.

As the plane landed, it hit a pickup truck and its wing clipped a barn.

A flight instructor was injured. The victim's injury is non-life-threatening.

A fuel leak was cleaned up by fire crews.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

Original article can be found here:   http://www.wpbf.com



ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A 23-year-old pilot sustained non life-threatening injuries after crashing a plane Monday afternoon in a rural area of western St. Lucie County, a St. Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman said.

Fire district crews were called at 3:35 p.m. to the incident in the 34100 block of Orange Avenue, near the Okeechobee County line, Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney said.

Chaney said the plane apparently was experiencing a mechanical issue.

She said the plane hit a barn, and there was a fuel leak.

Chaney said the crash occurred a good distance south of Orange Avenue.

She said the pilot, a man, was taken to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Deputy Bryan Beaty, St. Lucie County Sheriff's public information officer, said the pilot was up and walking when first responders arrived. He did not know the origin or destination of the plane.

Original article can be found here:  http://www.tcpalm.com

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