Flight Progress
The instructional flight, consisting of a flight instructor and a student, proceeded under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) until reaching the Palm Beach area, where clouds were noted. The instructor queried the Palm Beach Approach controller and was informed that Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) had been vectoring traffic through a "break" in the clouds.
Turbulence Encounter
The instructor received a radio communications handoff from Palm Beach Approach to Miami ARTCC. On initial contact, the Miami ARTCC controller provided a heading to steer, which the pilot complied with. The controller did not provide weather intensity information. As the flight proceeded along the assigned heading, the pilot encountered rain and turbulence. He elected to make a 180-degree turn to exit the precipitation. During the turn, the airplane encountered a downdraft, resulting in an immediate decrease of about 2,000 feet, followed by increased turbulence.
Damage and Landing
During the turbulence encounter, the airplane door hinge pins fractured, and the passenger side window detached from the airplane, impacting the right side horizontal stabilizer. The pilot declared an emergency and subsequently landed at Palm Beach International Airport, Palm Beach, Florida, without further incident. At the time of the accident, the accident airplane was inside PBI's airspace but under control of Miami ARTCC. Miami ARTCC is equipped with digital weather display capability that is designated to show levels 2 through 6 on the VIP scale. FAA order 7110.65, "Air Traffic Control," paragraph 2-6-4, "Weather and Chaff Services," states that controllers shall issue the level of echo intensity when that information is available.