ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 71558
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| Date: | Sunday 17 January 2010 |
| Time: | 15:45 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six |
| Owner/operator: | DHPN Inc. |
| Registration: | N4219R |
| MSN: | 32-40584 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1969 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | About five miles off the coast of Bimini, Bahamas -
 Bahamas
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Nassau-Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS/MYNN) |
| Fort Lauderdale-Executive Airport, FL (FXE/KFXE) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The Piper Cherokee Six crashed into the sea about 2 hours after take off. All 3 on board didn't survive.
PROBABLE CAUSE
The investigation team has determined that the probable cause of this accident was the decision of the pilot to initiate and continue flight into clearly identified thunderstorm activity, resulting in a loss of control of the airplane from which the pilot was unable to recover and subsequent collision with the water.
This accident underscores the rapidly changing nature of thunderstorms, and the importance of clarifying information about the safety of flight near areas of convective activity.
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS:
• The pilot’s lack of proper training and certification to fly in weather less than that required for visual flight conditions contributed greatly to this accident.
• The pilot’s failure to recover from an unusual flight attitude.
• The pilot’s poor judgment and poor decision making skills.
• The pilot’s failure to land at a nearby airport to wait out the approaching weather phenomenon to which he was not trained or
certified to fly in.
• The pilot’s failure to properly assess information concerning convective activity is a contributing factor. There should have been ample information available from visual observations and other resources for the pilot to make a decision to delay the trip or make a landing in South Bimini to wait the passage of the cold front and or thunderstorms prior to continuing the flight.
• There was an absence of prudence concerning thunderstorm and there was a demonstration of a lack of knowledge of thunderstorm activity evidenced by the activity of “scud running”.
• The collective use and conservative interpretation of a proper weather briefing prior to departure or an enroute weather update would have been invaluable. This information would have provided evidence to the pilot of the maturation of a hazardous weather situation and the need for avoidance.
• Pilots must exercise conservative judgment when they are confronted with hazardous weather conditions, especially in the terminal environment. They must be able to recognize and accurately interpret the conditions within, under or near rapidly developing and maturing thunderstorms. In addition, they must understand that the life cycle of a thunderstorm is extremely dynamic and can change significantly within a short distance or within a short time, or both. In particular they must recognize low altitude hazards associated with thunderstorms along or near their path and avoid them. More emphasis is needed in training to stress that the characteristics and dynamics of thunderstorms require deliberate avoidance techniques rather than the skills to fly through or under these thunderstorms.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-01-18/news/fl-crash-bahamas-20100118_1_plane-bahamas-department-royal-bahamas-police-force
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jan/18/prominent-naples-businessmen-among-three-reported-/
http://www.ocala.com/article/20100118/APN/1001181923?tc=ar
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Jan-2010 06:48 | RobertMB | Added |
| 18-Jan-2010 07:32 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration] |
| 18-Jan-2010 18:18 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator] |
| 19-Jan-2010 06:15 | RobertMB | Updated [Total fatalities, Total occupants, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:25 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 04-Jun-2020 06:32 | harro | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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