ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 207853
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Thursday 9 August 2001 |
| Time: | 12:15 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six |
| Owner/operator: | Fly Key West |
| Registration: | N5569J |
| MSN: | 32-1053 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1968 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4886 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming O-540-E4B5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Florida Straits, ca 40 mi SW of Key West, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Key West International Airport, FL (EYW/KEYW) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On August 9, 2001, about 1215 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32-260, N5569J, registered to a private individual, dba Fly Key West, Inc., operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 local sightseeing flight, ditched in the Florida Straits, about 41 miles southwest of Key West, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The commercially-rated pilot received minor injures and was rescued by a Navy helicopter. The two passengers were not found, and the U. S. Coast Guard suspended their search. They are presumed to have drowned. The flight departed Key West International Airport at about 1145.
According to the pilot, the flight was planned as a commercial sight-seeing flight in the Key West vicinity. The customers were an elderly Hispanic couple who spoke little English. Upon reaching cruising altitude, the male passenger left his seat, encroached into the cockpit, produced a knife, turned the radios and transponder off, and demanded to be flown to Cuba. In an attempt to thwart the hijacking, the pilot pitched over to produce negative "g" to disable the hijacker, and headed back to Key West. In the ensuing struggle, the hijacker fell against and bent the retarded throttle. Attempts to straighten the throttle shaft snapped it off, and an idle power ditching was conducted. At water impact, forward motion stopped violently, and the lap-belted passengers appeared to lose consciousness. The pilot egressed from the right cockpit door, inflated his life vest, and swam to the passenger door to extricate the passengers, but the aircraft started sinking before he could get the door open. The passengers went down with the aircraft, and the pilot was rescued by a U. S. Navy helicopter. Neither aircraft nor passengers have been recovered to date.
Probable Cause: The inadvertent disabling of the throttle in the idle position during a cockpit disturbance created when an armed hijacker forcibly attempted to cause the aircraft to fly to Cuba, resulting in a loss of controllability of power for sustainable flight and an emergency descent and ditching.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Mar-2018 13:41 | TB | Added |
| 28-Jul-2023 05:32 | Captain Adam | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation