Friday, August 28, 2020

Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander, N900DT: Fatal accident occurred August 28, 2020 in Pembroke Park, Broward County, Florida

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. 

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident. 

Additional Participating Entities: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Miramar, Florida 
Lycoming Engines; Williamsport, Pennsylvania 
Hartzell Propeller Inc; Piqua, Ohio

https://registry.faa.gov/N900DT

Location: Pembroke Park, FL 
Accident Number: ERA20LA297
Date & Time: 08/28/2020, 0902 EDT
Registration: N900DT
Aircraft: Rockwell 500
Injuries: 2 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Business 

On August 28, 2020, about 0902 eastern daylight time, an Aero Commander Aircraft 500-S, N900DT, was destroyed when it impacted a building near Pembroke Park, Florida. The commercial pilot and pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 business flight.

According to preliminary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ADS-B and audio information, after takeoff from Pompano Beach Airpark about 0852, the flight proceeded in a southeast direction to the shore, then flew in a south-southwest direction just offshore. About 0858, when the flight was about 13 nautical miles northeast from Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (OPF), which was the destination, an occupant onboard the airplane contacted the OPF air traffic control tower (ATCT) and advised the controller that the flight was inbound. The flight was radar identified and continued in a south-southwest direction while climbing to 1,100 ft mean sea level (msl). At about 0859:49, or 1 minute 49 seconds after the initial contact with the OPF ATCT, an occupant advised the controller, "and uh november delta tango ah we have uh an engine problem, we [are going] to North Perry [Airport]." The OPF ATCT initially coordinated with Miami Approach and advised the facility that the flight was descending, with a last reported altitude of 300 ft. The controller then attempted to coordinate with North Perry ATCT.

About 0859:53, the airplane turned to a southwest direction, climbed to about 1250 ft msl. About that time a witness who was located about 2.8 nautical miles east-southeast of the flightpath when the airplane was flying in the southwest direction reported hearing the engines accelerating and decelerating which changed to a popping sound. The airplane continued flying and went out of his earshot.

The ADS-B data reflected that about 0900:47, the airplane turned and flew in a west-northwesterly direction until about 0901:58, when the flight proceeded in a north-northwest direction until near the accident site. Witnesses who were on a golf course north of the accident site reported seeing the airplane flying in a westerly direction with no reported engine sound. They then noted the airplane banked left and then descended. The airplane collided with the east face of a storage building in a densely populated area, then fell to the parking lot of the building. There were no reported ground injuries.

Preliminary examination of the accident site revealed an impact mark on the building which reflected the airplane being in a right bank. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of pre or postimpact fire. The wreckage was recovered and retained for further examination. 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Rockwell
Registration: N900DT
Model/Series: 500 S
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: CONQUEST AIR
Operating Certificate(s) Held: On-demand Air Taxi (135)
Operator Does Business As:
Operator Designator Code: Q9UA

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: HWO, 9 ft msl
Observation Time: 0853 EDT
Distance from Accident Site: 4 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 31°C / 27°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Scattered / 3000 ft agl
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 8 knots / , 140°
Lowest Ceiling: Broken / 12000 ft agl
Visibility:  10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.09 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point: Pompano Beach, FL (PMP)
Destination: Miami, FL (OPF)

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Destroyed
Passenger Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
  Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 25.994444, -80.170833

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.


Captain Nissan Giat (L)

First Officer Joaquin Ricalde Magana


​PIO Number: 20-8-28

BSO Case Number: 19-2008-000523

Date: August 28, 2020

Time: 9:09 a.m.

Jurisdiction: Pembroke Park

Place of Occurrence: 1781 S. Park Road, Pembroke Park


Victim(s):

Name temporarily withheld (DECEASED)

Name temporarily withheld (DECEASED)


Description of Incident:


Broward Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives are investigating a plane crash that left two people dead in Pembroke Park.


At approximately 9:09 a.m. Friday morning, Broward County Regional Communications received a call in reference to a plane crash near the 1700 block of South Park Road in Pembroke Park.


First responders arrived on scene and located a crashed plane at 1781 S. Park Road in Pembroke Park. Hollywood Fire Rescue and Broward Sheriff’s Office Fire Rescue conducted a safety assessment of the plane and located two bodies. Both persons were occupants of the plane and were confirmed deceased on scene.


BSO deputies established a crime scene around the crash site and secured the scene. BSO homicide and crime scene detectives are assisting the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board who will be the lead on this investigation.


The identities are being withheld pending confirmation from the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office.


The investigation is ongoing.


INVESTIGATORS:

Detective Samantha Cottam, Homicide

Sergeant B. Tutler, Homicide

Hollywood Police & Fire Rescue; Pembroke Park District

Federal Aviation Administration

National Transportation Safety Board


THIS REPORT BY:

Sergeant Donald Prichard/PIO-Sworn

8/29/2020 1140


https://www.sheriff.org




PEMBROKE PARK, Florida (WSVN) - The family of the pilot who was killed when a small plane struck a storage building in Pembroke Park paid tribute to him on social media, as authorities continue to investigate the crash that claimed two lives.


7News cameras captured crews towing away the wreckage of the Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander from the scene, near the intersection of Pembroke Park and South Park roads, Saturday.


The son of the Captain, took to Instagram writing a heartfelt message to his father, Nissan Giat, on Instagram.


According to 7News sources, Giat was onboard the aircraft.


The son’s pilot wrote in the post, “I’ll continue what you started, till we fly together again … Love you, Aba.”


The crash took place at around 9 a.m. on Friday.


Surveillance cameras captured the moment the Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander plunged into the building.


7SkyForce hovered above the mangled aircraft moments after.


Authorities said the collision killed the pilot and passenger inside the aircraft.


“[Crews] located two bodies, which have been confirmed deceased,” said Broward Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Don Prichard.


Investigators said the plane had taken off from Pompano Beach Airpark and was headed to Opa-Locka.


During the flight, air traffic control lost contact with the pilot somewhere over Hollywood.


“Did they land already?” an air traffic controller said in an attempt to reach the pilot.


The plane belongs to Conquest Air Inc, a cargo company that services South Florida and the Bahamas.


As of Saturday afternoon, authorities have not disclosed the passenger’s identity.


The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash.


https://wsvn.com



Captain Nissan Giat and First Officer Joaquin Ricalde Magana were found at the scene, Broward Sheriff's Office officials said.


Records showed the plane had left Pompano Beach Airpark just minutes before the crash and was headed to Opa-locka.


The plane was owned by Conquest Air Cargo but the company said it's not used in day-to-day cargo operations.


"Our concern is with the pilots and their families," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to work with the relevant authorities to obtain more information regarding this situation."


The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the incident.


BSO and the FAA are not releasing the identities of the victims at this time. Officials says they are still waiting on confirmation from the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office.


https://www.nbcmiami.com



PEMBROKE PARK, Florida – The Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander that crashed Friday was removed from the scene — a storage facility parking lot — piece by piece on Saturday and loaded onto flatbed trucks.


As the investigation continues into what caused the plane to crash, the remnants will be taken to a hangar to be examined by investigators.


Surveillance cameras from a nearby building captured the moment the aircraft hit the fifth floor of the building on Park Road before crashing into the pavement.


The Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander took off from Pompano Beach Airpark after 9 a.m. enroute to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, but just 9 minutes after departure, something went wrong.


“I can tell you that when a twin-engine airplane loses an engine, it can be very difficult to fly,” Steven J. Grey, a pilot for Total Traffic, told Local 10.


Local 10 spoke to the family of one of the men who lost their life and they are understandably devastated. Joaquin Ricalde Magaña was from Mexico.  His family has strong political ties to the Yucatán Peninsula.  


Grey said he knew the pilot that was killed in the crash. Out of respect for the family, we are not releasing his name, but those in aviation said they knew him well.


“This is a man that just loved to fly,” Grey said. “Anytime you lose a pilot in the community, it’s bad but to find out it’s a friend.”


The plane was owned by Conquest Air, a Miami Lakes based company that flies daily trips to the Bahamas, but they told Local 10 the plane was not part of the company’s cargo operation and was not used for commercial purposes.


The National Transportation Safety Board along with the Federal Aviation Administration will be among the agencies investigating the crash.


https://www.local10.com




Magaña’s niece, a politician in Mexico, tweeted out this photo with Joaquin on the far right in a black shirt, writing in Spanish that “Life is short and a privilege and if you don’t remember that, it will remind you. Have a good trip uncle Huacho, this was a flight with no return.”


The Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander with Magaña and one other person on board had taken off in Pompano Beach and was heading to Opa-locka, police say. It was only in the air for nine minutes before it crashed around 9 a.m. at 1781 S. Park Road in Pembroke Park.


The force of the collision into the building’s fifth floor was so great that the engine separated from the plane.


“I was walking out of the storage when I heard an explosion,” Armando Perez told reporters at the scene in Spanish. “I came out and saw the plane and two bodies. Had I gone out a minute earlier, the plane would’ve fallen on me.”


Sky 10 was above the scene shortly before 9:30 a.m. The bodies of two people were visible toward the front of the plane, surrounded by debris.


Broward Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Don Prichard said police, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and Hollywood Fire Rescue crews were dispatched to the scene.


Prichard said it appears that no one was inside the storage building that the plane hit.


The building will need repairs but has been deemed safe to be in.


According to the Federal Aviation Administration registry, the plane is registered to Conquest Air, Inc. out of Miami Lakes.


Conquest Air is a cargo company that flies daily trips from Miami to the Bahamas — doing most of their flying out of Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport — but they say this plane was not part of their cargo operation and is not used for any commercial purposes.


“Our concern is with the pilots and their families,” a statement issued by Conquest Air read in part. “We will continue to work with the relevant authorities to obtain more information regarding this situation.”


Steven J. Grey, who flies for Total Traffic, told Local 10 News reporter Jeff Weinsier that the pilot of that plane could be heard on radio panicking before impact.


“It sounds like the pilot keyed up the radio before the plane went down, or the copilot, and was screaming,” Grey said. “We just landed at Hollywood North Perry Airport and my pilot’s listening on the radio and he hears, “Oh, f! ... Oh my gosh!’”


Grey said the tower didn’t get a response from the plane after that, and then declared an emergency and told other aircraft in the area to hold.


FAA spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, with the NTSB taking the lead in the investigation.


In February 2019, a cargo plane from Conquest Air was on its way to Opa-locka from the Bahamas when it went down in the water about 13 miles east of Bay Harbor Islands.


https://www.local10.com



A Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander plane crashed into a storage building in South Broward early Friday, killing two people onboard.


The Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander clipped the building before crashing next to it in an industrial area at 1824 S. Park Rd. in Pembroke Park, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The area is on the Hollywood-Hallandale Beach border and just east of North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines.


The prop plane had departed from the Pompano Beach Air Park airport and was on its way to Opa-locka when it crashed shortly after 9 a.m, said Broward County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Don Prichard.


Both the pilot and passenger were killed, Prichard said. He declined to say if those onboard were male or female. He said their families were being notified.


Total Traffic Network reporter Stephen J. Gray and his crew heard the plane’s distress call just before it went down Friday, according to Miami Herald news partner CBS4.


“My pilot’s listening on the radio, he hears, ‘Oh F, Oh F, oh my gosh.’ Then the tower calls out the N number, the plane did not respond and then the tower declared an emergency,” Gray told the station.


Orlyn Andino, who works near the storage facility, said he heard what sounded like an explosion. When he looked up, he saw the plane hitting the top of the storage building before it went down into a lot.


He and others who witnessed the crash called 911 and rushed over to help, but it was too late, he said. The two people inside the plane were dead, he said.


The plane, with N900DT on its tail, has seven seats and is registered to Miami Lakes-based Conquest Air Inc, a cargo airline with daily services between Miami and Nassau, Bahamas, according to an FAA plane registry search.


“Our concern is with the pilots and their families. We will continue to work with the relevant authorities to obtain more information regarding this situation,” Conquest Air said in a written statement. “The aircraft ... is not used in the day to day cargo operation. The aircraft is not used in our normal cargo operation and was not on our FAA Part 135 Certificate.”


Surveillance video shared with the Miami Herald from a nearby building captured the plane as it crashed. In the video, the plane breaks into pieces as it falls next to the building. Another video taken by a witness who saw the crash shows parts of the plane scattered across the ground. The front of the plane was completely wrecked.


“The debris field is pretty large,” said Prichard, the spokesman for the sheriff office. “The plane is mangled.”


One side of the building near the top has a broken window and some scrapes on the wall from where the plane struck it. Parts of the wall are also covered in what appears to be blood. About a three-foot chunk of concrete also appeared to be torn from the building’s corner. Prichard said it’s believed the storage building the plane hit was empty at the time.


Armando Perez, who was visiting the storage unit, told WSVN he feels lucky to be alive.


“I was leaving the garage near the gate when I heard the explosion,” Perez said. “When I looked, I saw the plane. If I would have left two minutes after, the plane would have fallen on top of me. It was a question of two minutes.”


The Broward Sheriff’s Office said that the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are taking over the investigation.


https://www.miamiherald.com



PEMBROKE PARK, Florida – A small plane crashed Friday morning in Broward County, resulting in two fatalities.


The crash occurred around 9 a.m. in an industrial area at 1781 S. Park Road in Pembroke Park.


Sky 10 was above the scene shortly before 9:30 a.m. The bodies of two people were visible toward the front of the plane, surrounded by debris.


“I was walking out of the storage when I heard an explosion,” Armando Perez told reporters at the scene in Spanish. “I came out and saw the plane and two bodies. Had I gone out a minute earlier, the plane would’ve fallen on me.”


BSO Sgt. Don Prichard said police, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and Hollywood Fire Rescue crews were dispatched to the scene.


The plane struck a storage building before it crashed to the ground, but Prichard said it appears that no one was inside the building at the time.


The building has since been deemed safe to be in.


According to the Federal Aviation Administration registry, the plane is a Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander that is registered to Conquest Air Inc out of Miami Lakes.


Prichard said the plane had taken off in Pompano Beach and was heading to Opa-locka. It was only in the air for a few minutes before it crashed.


Steven J. Grey, who flies for Total Traffic, told Local 10 News reporter Jeff Weinsier that the pilot could be heard panicking before impact.


“It sounds like the pilot keyed up the radio before the plane went down, or the copilot, and was screaming,” Grey said. “We just landed at Hollywood North Perry Airport and my pilot’s listening on the radio and he hears, “Oh, f! Oh, f! Oh my gosh!’”


Grey said the tower didn’t get a response from the plane after that, and then declared an emergency and told other aircraft in the area to hold.


“Our concern is with the pilots and their families,” a statement from Conquest Air read in part. “We will continue to work with the relevant authorities to obtain more information regarding this situation.”


According to the statement, the plane was not used in the company’s normal cargo operation.


FAA spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, with the NTSB taking the lead in the investigation.


https://www.local10.com






PEMBROKE PARK — A small plane crashed into a public storage facility in Pembroke Park on Friday morning, killing two people.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash of the Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander, but spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt did not confirm how many people were onboard.

The plane — registered to Miami Lakes-based Conquest Air Inc. — crashed at about 9:20 a.m. into the upper floors of the six-story public storage facility and landed in the parking lot at 1781 South Park Road, just south of Pembroke Road and west of Interstate 95.

It was bound for Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport from Pompano Beach Airpark when it fell from the sky.

One witness in the neighboring Pembroke Park Self Storage area said he heard a whining sound, looked up, saw the low flying plane, heard the engine stall out, and then a loud bang as the plane hit the building and fell to the ground.

The crash scene is just south of the vast Orangebrook Golf and Country Club course.

Steven J. Grey is a veteran traffic reporter who had just landed at North Perry Airport after covering the Friday morning rush hour for local television stations.

“I had just gotten out of the [helicopter] and my pilot hears on the aircraft radio [cursing] and ’Oh no’ and then the tower at North Perry called out the N-number of the aircraft and no response,” Grey said. “And then North Perry declared an emergency.”

Two bodies were covered by yellow tarps and firefighters surrounded the area blocking off South Park Road.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed, at a midday news conference, there were two dead and no other passengers aboard the aircraft.

“They located two bodies which have been confirmed deceased,” said Sgt. Don Prichard.

The identities of the crash victims were not being released until relatives were informed and gave their permission in accordance with Marsy’s privacy law, he said.

Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue and Hollywood Fire Rescue were at the crash scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be among those agencies investigating the crash.

Conquest Air is a cargo airline providing daily service to Nassau, Bahamas, and service as needed to Freeport, Abaco, and the Caribbean, according to the company website. Attempts to contact the company by phone were unsuccessful.

This was the second small plane crash in as many days in Broward County.

A Cessna 172 made an emergency landing in a field in the Everglades on Thursday afternoon, west of Weston south of Everglades Park.

Two men were onboard the plane, a pilot and his student. They were taken to the Cleveland Clinic hospital for evaluation.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com



PEMBROKE PARK, Florida (WSVN) - The families of two men killed when their plane slammed into a storage building in Pembroke Park said they have questions about the crash, pointing to the victims’ years of experience as pilots and flight instructors.

Grieving loved ones said they want to know what caused the plane that Nissan Giat and Joaquin Ricalde were flying to go down near the intersection of Pembroke Park and South Park roads, just west of Interstate 95, Friday morning.

“It didn’t feel real. I felt numb. It just didn’t make any sense to me,” said Ricalde’s son, Rommel Ricalde, “and after every phone call that I made to my family members to tell them the news, with each and every one of those phone calls, it felt more and more real.”

Between the two pilots, loved ones said, they have more than 30 years of experience.

“In between the two pilots is more than 40,000 hours of experience in an aircraft,” said Giat’s wife, Viví Davidoff Giat.

Rommel described his father as a selfless man who always helped others.

“My father was a man devoted to his family. He worked his whole life to make sure me and my family had all we wanted and all we needed,” he said.

Rommel also called his father a “dinosaur of the sky” because of his thousands of logged flight hours.

“He was a pilot. He was one of the greatest pilots, not because he was my dad but because he had 9,000 hours of flights,” he said.

Officials said Ricalde was piloting the Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander that was headed from the Pompano Beach Airpark to Opa-Locka when, authorities said, the plane smashed into the side of the storage building, killing him and Giat.

Davidoff Giat, herself a pilot, said her husband was a longtime flight trainer who taught thousands of other pilots and can’t begin to speculate what went wrong on Friday.

“My husband was an extremely amazing pilot with very high skills that, thanks to him, I become the pilot I am, with thousands and thousands of hours,” she said.

Davidoff Giat said she remembers the last conversation she had with her husband.

“[He said], ‘Taking off, my love. I’ll be back; I’ll text you when I’m landing,'” she said.

But she would never receive that text, and now both families wait for answers, as they mourn these accomplished pilots and devoted family men.

“My father and Nissan both were great pilots, and with 30 years of experience, they’ve been flying longer than I’ve been alive. I’m 23,” said Rommel. “Whatever happened, obviously, there’s going to be an investigation, but I very much doubt that it was their fault, and I refuse to believe that.”

“We’re all devastated, we’re all very emotional, and we take it one day at a time,” said Davidoff Giat.

The National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the crash.


https://wsvn.com


PEMBROKE PARK, Florida – There’s still a visual reminder of what happened here Friday, a major scar on the east side of the building where a plane collided.

And now we’re getting to know a little more about the men who were inside the plane and died in that crash.

Nissan Giat, 53 of Miramar, and Joaquin Ricalde Magaña, 56 of Miami, were close friends who had flown together often. According to their families, both pilots had thousands of hours spent in the air.

“I’m still waiting for the text [that would say]: ’Just landed, babe. My love. On my way home,’” says Vivi Davidoff-Giat, Nissan’s wife.

She says the past few days have been incredibly difficult.

“It still doesn’t register that he’s not here with me and with the loves of his life, the kids, the friends,” Davidoff-Giat says.

What exactly caused the Rockwell 500S Shrike Commander to come crashing down Friday during a quick trip from Pompano Beach to Opa-locka is still unclear. An investigation from the National Transportation Safety Board is underway.

“My dad has been flying longer than I’ve been alive,” Magaña’s son Rommel Ricalde says. “He flew over 30 years, had thousands of hours of experience. So did Nissan. Nissan was a flight instructor.”

“He was selfless. I don’t understand why he had to go that way,” Ricalde added of his dad.

Both families are trying to find a way to move forward.

“The only thing he said to me over and over again, ’If I ever want to go, it’s going to be doing what I love to do in an airplane,” Davidoff-Giat said of her husband.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by the family of Joaquin Ricalde Magaña:  https://www.gofundme.com

https://www.local10.com

44 comments:

  1. Flightaware shows very low flight along the beach followed by a rise to 1,100 feet, then airspeed trails off.

    https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N900DT/history/20200828/1253Z/KPMP/L%2025.99452%20-80.17071

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Flight along the beach immediately after takeoff may have been a simple shoreline flyby or the pilot's response to trouble with the aircraft. Pilot communication with controllers may provide insight.

      Declining altitude and airspeed appears to begin at the 9:00:40 AM ADSB data point, showing 1075 feet altitude and 111 knots, with a last recorded data point at 9:02:03 AM of 275 feet and 82 knots. Elapsed time from onset of that decline to last data in FlightAware is one minute and 23 seconds.

      Rockwell Commander misfueling is common, but flight duration in this case is much longer than past power loss after takeoff accidents where fueling with Jet-A instead of 100LL was the problem.

      Delete
    2. I fly out of Pompano quite a bit. A low level flight south along the shore is standard procedure from ATC to stay under the departing and arriving flights from FLL. We are almost always given a choice top stay under 500 or go to 2500 which is a pretty steep climb headed south.
      It appears from the ADS-B pings they stayed at about 350 ft until past FLL and then climbed to 1000 again common. Will be interesting to hear the communication with ATC.
      The descent was not that fast.
      There is a video of the crash from the storage. Very violent to hit a solid building at 90 mph with 5000+ lbs. A lot of energy, but I cannot see any fluid in any of the shots.
      The aircraft are not known for fuel supply issues, Fuel exhaustion???

      Delete
    3. I am seeing a descending, low level right turn into a 1050 ft antenna.

      Delete
    4. WAXY-FM tower is 1,100 feet Southwest of the Public Storage building that the plane hit. The descending right turn starting from the beach stayed East of the tower. For visual reference, there is a pond between the storage building and WAXY's tower.

      Pinned storage building location here:
      http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&q=loc:25.994522+-80.170918

      Delete
    5. I see that- perhaps they saw the antenna and made the turn .... thanks for the "pin" shows a lot more and the antenna

      Delete
    6. FYI, several comments have referenced the speed on the ADS-B track as "airspeed", but the speed returned by ADS-B is almost always GPS-derived ground speed.

      Delete
  2. my plane is based in pompano. I spoke to my tie-doen neighbor today. He overheard how somebody at the maintenance shop offered to tow the accident plane over to the fuel pump for refueling. The accident pilot declined, stating "we think we have enough for the short flight to Opa Locka". Fuel exhaustion is compatible with this accident scenario (there's no checklist in an aero commander for having lost both engines). Also, no post crash fire at the scene. If that proves to be true, I have no sympathy for the pilot. What a waste of life and endangering others just to safe 5 minutes of fueling time. We'll have to wait for the NTSB report, but I am quite angry as I have seen pilots be reckless with fuel planning too many times. Hope I am wrong.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Since the fuel cells are interconnected to a center fuel sump that feeds both engines, fuel exhaustion in the 500S is always both engines. Same scenario as N73U out of Daytona (link below).

      https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20090525X10534&key=1

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    2. I knew one of the pilots personally, this guy lived by the book. He would not have just winged the fuel requirements, he was OCD on calculating them and having overhead.

      Delete
    3. Bing, bing, bing!! We have a winner!!
      Spot on with all counts!


      I knew one of the pilots personally, this guy lived by the book. He would not have just winged the fuel requirements, he was OCD on calculating them and having overhead.

      Delete
    4. Photos indicate no fire or fuel spillage occurred. Wreckage removal on Saturday had to include draining of residual fuel. The NTSB preliminary can report on the residual fuel quantity found or hold off until final reporting later on.

      If no residual fuel was present, the answer to the fuel exhaustion question is already known to the on-scene Fire Department people, wreck cleanup crew and city workers responsible for spill oversight.

      Delete
    5. The level of hearsay in your comment is irresponsible.

      You (1)
      tie-doen neighbor (2)
      Someone else (3)
      Pilot (4)

      At that point is a game of telephone and not reliable information.

      But taking it in good faith and trying to support the scenario there are a few possibilities for such an exchange. These are not the only ones just the ones that are of the top of my head at the moment, I am sure the FAA investigators will have a more comprehensive hypothesis IF the fuel issue is indeed the problem and at this time we do not know that with certainty. With that in mind I present the following:

      1) The fuel gauge Indicated sufficient volume for the planned short flight.

      This gauge was giving erroneous readings because:

      A) Improperly installed
      B) Damaged
      C) Faulty
      D) Stuck

      2) Fuel was indicated to be the correct volume for the flight and the instruments worked as they were supposed to.

      A) A leak happened mid-flight
      B) Fuel consumption was above normal rates.
      C) Fuel was jettisoned for some reason.

      I suggest however, that we wait until the report comes out.

      Delete
    6. Ok Mr. NTSB, it’s clear what happened so no, I won’t wait the 24 months for that federal bureaucracy to file their report before I draw my own conclusion.

      Delete
    7. The NTSB already knows the residual fuel quantity found during draining as part of wreckage removal on Saturday.

      Will the preliminary report in the next couple of weeks reveal that info? Maybe..

      Delete
  3. The (somewhat disturbing) video seems to indicate loss of directional control, as in near vertical descent. It's hard to say for sure though. You can't see where it hit the building, just how it fell. We'll see what the NTSB comes up with.

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  4. If they had been able to stay aloft a little longer and clear the storage building, the Orangebrook golf course was just 1000 feet ahead of them.

    Look North from the pinned crash site:
    http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&q=loc:25.994522+-80.170918

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  5. ^^They were in no position to stay aloft another 10 feet, let alone 1000 feet. They were stalling. And I'm with others. This has fuel starvation written all over it just by no fire.

    That said, I hope the family has not seen the photo of that impact mark on the building with which a large blood smear appears to be. It was clearly not a paint mark since the aircraft had no red coloring on it

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    1. The red stains on the building and engine nacelle is hydraulic fluid.

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    2. Not sure what the fuss is about. Hispanic/Mexican media is very liberal which I find quite refreshing regarding swearing and reality compared to the media in the US dictating what can be seen or not seen, and showing the aftermath of a plane crash totally censored is like the german propaganda reels of WW2 showing the battlefields sanitized of corpses and body parts. I do not condone gratuitous voyeurism of death but maybe such images will bring home the consequences of poor ADM or airmanship for the benefit of all. No one is forced to see those images or have them shoved their pupils. We are grownups that don't need a nanny to tell us what can be shown or not. The flip side is of course some pervs will enjoy such display of gore and flesh exposed. But this is the price to pay for freedom. Censorship of the reality is the slippery slope to all perversions of free expression. "For the children" was a favorite phrase of Goebbels to justify an ever tightening noose around free speech in the early years of the Third Reich...

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    3. Hopefully the day does not come that someone you love perishes and in your desperation to find information about them, you bear witness to their mangled body laying upon a pool of their blood. Because there are no tears to explain how much pain that caused and what a dagger to the heart it was to the wives of these men. I truly hope this does not come to pass to you ever, because these two families suffered plenty.

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    4. "The red stains on the building and engine nacelle is hydraulic fluid"

      No it is not hydraulic fluid. Obviously you've never handled hydraulic fluid. I have, for many years. That is blood my friend and note that KR has taken then image off the website.

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    5. I certainly don't want to disrespect the dead and RIP. If my loved ones were involved in a horrible mishap and their pictures circulating online I would choose not to look. As simple as that. No one put a gun to my head to see them and accidental imagery can be averted too.
      That aside we say "rules are written in blood" but those are just words to the students and most pilots. Let it really sink in what mistakes and anything overlooked will mean to you if you are careless in Aviation. They show the consequences of DUI crashes in all explicitness to most drivers and likewise here the implied horror and agony in the seconds preceding certain death may deter some pilots from ever skipping on checklist items or thinking of "winging it" and if it saves a few lives may it be at least that.
      I just hate the concept of a nanny TV or state telling us what to see or not see. We are grownups and mature enough. In other countries where such images are widely circulated, like those of the cartel wars in Mexico, I don't see an uptick in distress or depression. Reality is what is Life.

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  6. Flew commanders in the 1980's. One way to extend the range when at low fuel and low load is to feather the right engine or at least put it at low power. Did that once and reached the field with a few gallons left only. Lazy or coward pilots keep going with both engines sulcking fuel and the above happens..

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  7. To correct the info in the article, Joaquin Recalde was not the pilot of command. The other pilot, Nissan Giat was the pilot in command and the chief pilot of Conquest Air on the record.

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  8. Why would Broward Sheriff’s Office be investigating the crash as a possible homicide?

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    1. "I haven’t been able to find another job", Rolland Silva, First Officer.
      https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/copilot-who-survived-atlantic-plane-crash-sends-a-message-of-hope-amid-pandemic/2252828/

      N145GT

      https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20190211X75025&AKey=1&RType=Final&IType=LA

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    2. This was not the first fatal accident at Conquest Air. If the owner of the company wasn't an aviation lawyer, they would be out of business and likely behind bars.

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  9. Nissan was an incredible person and pilot. He knew this airspace and aircraft like the back of his hand. The plane had just been picked up from maintenance at PMP, I'm sure the NTSB has already interviewed the A&P who worked on it, that should be able to provide some insight as to what happen. My thoughts and prayers go out to Nissan & Joaquin's families. RIP

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  10. "He would not have just winged the fuel requirements" But he did ...

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    1. You don't know that, perhaps Nissan saw the fuel indicator saying they had plenty for a short trip when in fact this was not true. Or some other issue happened in flight that diminished their fuel to the point it was a problem.

      Both Nissan and Joaquin were experienced pilots to make such a call. Maybe in a very bad day one would but the other would object. Anyone in aviation will tell you that two experienced pilots making the exact same judgement call over a subject that one call lean in one the safe side is hard. Specially when it is one of the most important items in the pre-start checklist.

      The Commander burns around 27 gallons per hour and can carry 159 gallons, its range is just over 1000 miles. It was on the air for 9 minutes.

      Meaning it must have had about 4 gallons of fuel on the tank, so the indicator would have said 2.5% fuel or the needle would have literally pointed at empty. No one would ever take off with that little fuel. I would not take off with anything less than 10% if it does not cover my distance three times over.




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  11. I work about 2 miles from the crash site went by to view it for myself so i can try and wrap my brain around how this could happen to 2 pilots with so much experience if fuel exhaustion was the result I think complacency was the cause 1 minute earlier there over the ocean 500 ft higher they make the golf course 10 gals more fuel there reading kathryns report today

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  12. It is unlikely that these pilots relied solely on OEM fuel tank liquid level sensing indications. The tanks in this aircraft cannot be dip sticked to determine partial fill level and the operator would not want to routinely fill up fully for short haul flights due to excess fuel weight.

    Fuel flowmeter/totalizer instruments are a common solution to measure fuel used and calculate fuel remaining but errors made entering quantities of refilled fuel into the instrument can get you in trouble. Short haul operation using repeated partial tank fills is subject to fuel exhaustion if refill data entry errors accumulate and no full fillup is made.

    Mechanics and pilots at this operator will know what fuel quantity management method was used and NTSB always evaluates for operating with this type of instrument in accident aircraft that have them. You don't have to be a careless pilot to experience a fuel totalizer mishap in short haul operations using this aircraft.

    Air Tractor example:
    http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2019/08/fuel-exhaustion-air-tractor-at-802.html

    Example Instrument:
    https://shadin.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/OP91052D.pdf

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    1. didnt know they used such instruments to calculate fuel amount I would insist on putting enough fuel with reserve for whatever short hop I might taking otherwise this is a possible outcome

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    2. Sad loss of life. RIP
      Post maintenance flights are high risk. Perhaps some fuel was lost during maintenance operations, that was not accounted for.

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  13. My condolances to their family and friends.
    After reading the above and noting that there was no fire we can assume that the cause of the accident was a failure of both engines shortly after takeoff.
    I have experienced this type of engine failure in a similar scenario.
    I was transferring a twin engine high wing aircraft on a 15 mile trip.
    The plane had been sitting on the ramp in Kingston Jamaica for several months.
    I had the mechanics check it added fuel and gave me the thumbs up.
    I gave the engines an extended run up and everything looked great
    About 5 minutes after takeoff both engines lost power at 1000 ft but were windmilling.
    I picked a ditching point whilst doing a restart check. i turned off the fuel boost pumps at around 500 ft. Suddenly both engines started and I landed safely.
    The cause of the failure were blocked fuel vent tubes caused by mud wasps that deposited their nests high up in the tubes.
    These wasps are prevalent not only in the tropics but also in most of the southern states of the USA.
    Note Keeping the boost pumps on only created more negative pressure





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  14. A reminder to pilots doing their walk around or pre flight checks. Have available a stiff piece of wire around a foot long , poke it up the vent tube a few times . If wasps have deposited you will see the dust falling out. These wasps can plug a vent pipe in a week. Have your mechanic approve this procedure please.

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    1. The flight profile indicates fuel exhaustion. The flight profile seems to indicate a little sightseeing fun along the beaches then a climbout to 1000 ft to stay legal over densely populated areas.
      Fuel tracker also shows the cost at Tamiami is higher than Pompano beach for 100LL so what gives about them not fueling and possibly "winging it"? Did they had some kind of corporate rabate at Tamiami? why were they going there to begin with? Repositioning?

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    2. The beach run was not sightseeing fun, go back and read the third comment. Cameron Young explained the Pompano departure profile.

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    3. If so that's awfully low. The profile shows them almost at 200 ft AGL. Crazy.
      Normal pattern departure is at least 500-700 AGL from upwind to any sort of crosswind for a very good reason i.e possibility of engine failure on takeoff and hauling ass as high up as possible as quickly as possible. I am not aware of any ATC request that would put a plane so low on takeoff. Absolutely not safe...

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    4. @Marcilot- Obviously you are not familiar with S. Florida's high density airspace. Just because you are not aware of it doesn't make it so. In fact, it's been 500' offshore or 2000' overhead of FLL for the 41 years that I've been flying.

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  15. Preliminary report includes engine trouble communication but does not report fuel residual quantity drained during removal of the aircraft wreckage from the accident location.

    Flight time before trouble seems kinda long for Jet A contamination of the 100LL, but final report will reveal fuel circumstances, whatever they were.

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  16. From the NTSB report:

    Witnesses who were on a golf course north of the accident site reported seeing the airplane flying in a westerly direction with no reported engine sound.

    They then noted the airplane banked left and then descended.

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  17. Many experienced pilots must constantly remind themselves that they are not invincible and must not become complacent.

    The laws of physics and aerodynamics will Judge you harshly should you forget.

    Another lesson written in .....

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