History of Flight
On April 12, 2015, at about 1625 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-31T1, N119RL, collided with terrain on final approach to runway 13 at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The private pilot and three passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postcrash fire. The aircraft was registered to a private company and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) about 1520.
According to air traffic control information, the pilot checked in with Miami approach control at 1618 and was advised to maintain 3,000 feet. The controller provided the latest weather and runway information for FXE, and the pilot stated he would execute a visual approach to runway 9. The controller then cleared the airplane to proceed direct to FXE with a descent to 2,000 feet. The pilot reported that he did not have FXE in sight, so the controller provided assistance and cleared the pilot to descend to 1,500 feet. At 1623, the pilot reported the field in sight, and the controller cleared the pilot for the visual approach to runway 9 and handed him off to the FXE tower. At 1623:49, the pilot checked in with FXE tower and was immediately cleared to land. At 1624:27, the pilot reported, "romeo lima smoke in the cockpit." When asked to repeat, the pilot responded at 1624:30, "smoke in the cockpit." At 1624:38, the tower controller cleared the pilot to land on any runway and advised that he was aligned with runway 13. At 1624:48, the pilot stated he would land on runway 13. At 1625:14, the pilot reported, "mayday mayday mayday mayday mayday (unintelligible)." This was the last transmission. The airplane then crashed about 1/4 mile short of runway 13 in a wooded area.
A witness on a church sports field about 1/4 mile from the crash site observed the airplane coming from the northwest diagonally toward the airport. He stated the airplane was "too low." He thought it would pull up, but it "got worse, the closer it got to the ground the more the nose fell toward the ground." He then heard a loud explosion and saw a pillar of smoke and fire. He noted no smoke or fire coming from the airplane and that the engines sounded normal prior to the crash.
Security camera video provided to investigators captured the airplane immediately before the crash. The video revealed no visible smoke or fire trailing the airplane in flight. Immediately before impact, a noticeable pitch down was observed, consistent with the witness report.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 51, held a private pilot certificate with airplane single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings. He reported 1,221 total flight hours on his most recent FAA medical certificate dated February 18, 2015. Records recovered from the wreckage indicated he completed a PA-31 initial training course about one week before the accident. A pilot logbook was recovered but due to extensive fire damage, no total flight time information could be discerned.
Aircraft Information
The seven-seat airplane, also known as the Cheyenne I, was manufactured in 1979 and equipped with two Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-11 turboprop engines. Maintenance records indicated an annual inspection of the airframe, engines, and propellers was completed on April 3, 2015. At that inspection, the total time on the airframe and engines was 3,266.5 hours. Concurrent with the annual inspection, a Garmin GTN-650 GPS, communication and navigation system, Garmin GA-35 GPS antenna, Garmin GMA-340 audio panel, Bendix King KN-53 navigation and glideslope receiver, and Bendix King KI-204 VOR, localizer and glideslope indicator were installed, and old avionics were removed. A new aircraft battery was also installed.
Meteorological Information
The FXE weather at 1553 included wind from 140 degrees at 13 knots, visibility at least 10 statute miles, scattered clouds at 2,500 feet above ground, temperature 30 degrees C, dew point 20 degrees C, and altimeter setting 30.06 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was inside a fenced nature preserve within the airport boundary, directly under the extended centerline of runway 13. The debris field was about 167 feet long and 50 feet wide, oriented on a heading of about 112 degrees. The fuselage came to rest upright on a heading of 020 degrees. All major structural components were within the debris field. Tree limbs with smooth angular cuts were found along the wreckage path.
The fuselage was destroyed from the nose cone area aft to the forward pressure bulkhead by impact and postcrash fire. All structure forward of the main wing spar was consumed by fire. The aft fuselage forward of the main cabin door leading edge was segmented and destroyed by fire. The main cabin door was found latched. Cabin windows and windshields were destroyed. Forward cabin seats were bent and destroyed; aft seats were bent with fire damage. Seat restraints were damaged by fire; two buckled remnants were found, but webbing was burned away. Avionics and flight instruments were destroyed. The magnetic compass was in the forward debris path. Switch and circuit breaker panels were fire-damaged. Engine power levers appeared in the "full forward" positions. Control wheel shafts were bent. Rudder pedals were impact-damaged and not free to move. Nose landing gear was extended and locked. The main battery was not located. Flap and landing gear select switches were damaged. Trim wheel console was destroyed. Cables were intact.
Both engines were separated from the airframe, and both propeller assemblies were separated from the engines. The vertical fin remained attached; rudder was free. Rudder and trim cable continuity were traced forward with limited movement due to cabin compression. The horizontal stabilizer had tree and ground impact damage. Elevator was free; trim tab free. Left wing inboard section was separated and destroyed; outboard section was separated by tree impact. Left flap appeared extended. Right wing was partially attached. Fuel tanks were breached. Engines were examined; no evidence of pre-crash fire external to combustion sections was found. Wiring and avionics showed no pre-crash thermal damage or arcing.
All examination findings were consistent with impact and postcrash fire damage.