What happened
On March 24, 2008, at approximately 20:40 EDT, a Piper PA-28-161, registration N465TC, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico shortly after departing Venice Municipal Airport (VNC) in Florida. The flight was a local personal flight conducted under night visual meteorological conditions, and no flight plan had been filed.
The aircraft departed runway 31 and was executing a left downwind leg for the same runway when it descended and struck the water approximately one-half mile west of the shoreline. The pilot, a 64-year-old commercial pilot with approximately 4,000 hours of total flight experience, sustained 1 fatal injury.
At the time of the accident, the sky was clear with a visibility of 10 miles and winds from 340 degrees at 9 knots. The accident occurred during a dark night, as sunset had occurred 57 minutes prior and moonrise was not due for several hours.
The investigation
Investigators recovered the wreckage from the water on March 27, 2008. The impact caused extensive damage, including the separation of the right wing and the crushing of the cockpit and cabin area. Examination of the aircraft's control systems, including the ailerons, rudder, and stabilator, confirmed control continuity. The stabilator trim jackscrew was found in a position corresponding to near full nose-up trim.
Mechanical examination of the engine and propeller showed no evidence of preimpact malfunction. While the vacuum pump contained sand, the vanes remained intact, and the engine's internal components, including the crankshaft and valves, were functional. The fuel selector was set to the right tank, which contained 20 gallons, while the left tank contained 10 gallons.
Records indicated that the aircraft had undergone a 100-hour inspection just three days before the accident. Previous logs showed that a directional gyro (DG) error had been reported by another pilot in January and February 2008, but the unit had been replaced on February 1, 2008.
Findings
- The pilot was performing his first solo flight in an aircraft owned by the fixed-base operator.
- The pilot had flown only two hours in the 90 days preceding the accident.
- The aircraft departed controlled flight during the downwind leg of the traffic pattern.
- No preimpact mechanical malfunctions were identified in the wreckage examination.