History of Flight
On July 20, 2014, at 1446 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N737TP, operated by Dean International Inc., was destroyed when it collided with the Atlantic Ocean near Elliott Key, Florida, following a vertical descent. The student pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport (TMB) at about 1244 and was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 141 as a solo instructional flight. According to the pilot's flight instructor, the purpose was to remain in the traffic pattern and complete three takeoffs and landings. The airplane was dispatched at 1140, and the school was notified by a 911 operator at 1446. FAA information indicated the airplane took off about 1230 and remained in the traffic pattern for 15 minutes before departing the airport traffic area.
Four witnesses on the west side of Elliott Key provided consistent statements. Two witnesses reported hearing the engine at full power as the airplane descended vertically out of view, followed by the sound of impact. Two witnesses said the nose pitched up momentarily before the vertical descent at full power. One witness described the descent as straight down, with wings parallel to the water, and said the airplane did not spiral or spin. Another witness stated the engine remained at full power throughout. A third witness noted the engine sound became faster and louder as the airplane descended vertically and intact, with no recovery attempted.
Personnel Information
The pilot held a student pilot certificate with a solo endorsement for the Cessna 172. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on February 11, 2013. Logbook records showed 145 total flight hours, with 105 hours in the Cessna 172. The pilot had logged 40 hours during the 1980s and resumed flight training in 2013.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was manufactured in 1977. Its most recent annual inspection was completed June 4, 2014, at 18,366 aircraft hours. Approximately 30 hours of flight time were accrued after the inspection. According to the manufacturer, the Cessna 172 has conventional stall characteristics; an aural stall warning sounds 5 to 10 knots above the stall. Typically, one wing stalls before the other, leading to a spin around the stalled wing. If flight controls remain unchanged, the spin continues as a steady-state descent. The spin may be arrested by proper control inputs, or if controls are relaxed, it progresses to a nose-down spiraling descent.
Meteorological Information
At 1458, weather at Homestead Air Reserve Base (HST), 10 miles west of Elliott Key, reported few clouds at 2,000 feet, wind from 090 degrees at 8 knots, temperature 33°C, dew point 24°C, and altimeter setting 30.05 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was recovered and examined at Ft. Pierce, Florida, on July 25, 2014. All major components were accounted for. The engine compartment, instrument panel, cockpit, cabin area, wings, and empennage were completely destroyed by impact and fragmented into very small pieces. The largest sections were the vertical fin, horizontal stabilizer, elevator, and landing-gear support structure with gear attached. The engine remained attached to the instrument panel area by wires and cables. Control cable continuity to the rudder and elevator was established. Aileron cable continuity was traced through several breaks displaying overload failures.
The engine separated from the main wreckage and showed significant impact damage. The propeller was attached, with both blades displaying similar twisting, curling, and aft bending. The starter had rotational scoring on its face. All engine accessories except the right magneto were separated by impact. The crankshaft rotated by hand at the propeller flange established continuity through the powertrain and valvetrain. Thumb compression was confirmed on all cylinders. Neither magneto produced spark due to salt water immersion and corrosion. Disassembly revealed no visual evidence of mechanical anomaly.
Medical and Pathological Information
The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner Department performed the autopsy, listing the cause of death as "airplane crash." The FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory conducted forensic toxicology, which detected ethanol in muscle and blood but not in the liver; the levels were consistent with postmortem production.