History of Flight
On October 26, 2015, at 1233 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-31-350, N55GK, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a marsh in Weston, Florida, while on approach to Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured, one passenger incurred minor injuries, and one passenger was not injured. The business flight was operated by Spohrer & Dodd Aviation LLC and conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed.
The flight originated from Herlong Recreational Airport (HEG), Jacksonville, Florida, about 1010. Before departure, the airplane was fueled with 17.3 gallons of 100 low-lead aviation gasoline, which brought the fuel quantity in the main fuel tanks to full. No fuel was added to the auxiliary fuel tanks. The flight departed for FXE but diverted to Jacksonville Executive Airport (CRG) due to a cockpit window that was not properly closed. The pilot secured the window at CRG and departed on the accident flight about 1033.
According to the FAA, the flight was in radio and radar contact with air traffic control (Miami Approach) while being vectored for a visual approach to runway 9 at FXE. At 1230, the controller instructed the flight to descend from 3,000 ft to 2,000 ft msl, which the pilot acknowledged. The controller subsequently instructed the pilot to turn right from a heading of 160° to 180°, which the pilot acknowledged. About 1 minute later, the controller instructed the pilot to turn left to a heading of 090° and report the airport in sight. The pilot acknowledged but did not initiate the left turn. About 20 seconds later, the controller asked whether the pilot was turning left, and the pilot replied that he might have to land on the interstate highway. He then asked where the airport was, and the controller told him it was 15 miles east. At 1233:28, the pilot reported that he saw the interstate highway. No further communications were received from the airplane.
Review of radar data revealed that the airplane entered a right turn about 1230 and then continued on a straight course of about 180° magnetic from approximately 1232:18, when it was at 2,000 ft msl, until the last radar target at 1233:41, when it was at 200 ft msl. The majority of the cruise portion was flown about 40 knots slower than the final portion. The data indicated about 120 knots groundspeed from 1045 to 1154, then 160 knots from 1155 until 1213, when the descent began.
Personnel Information
The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and multiengine land, and a flight instructor certificate. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on April 27, 2015, at which time he reported 11,000 total flight hours. His logbook showed about 6,379 hours of multiengine experience, of which 105 hours were in the accident airplane.
Aircraft Information
The eight-seat, low-wing, retractable-gear airplane (serial number 31-7852013) was manufactured in 1978 and powered by two Lycoming TIO-540, 350-hp engines with Hartzell propellers. The most recent annual inspection was completed on June 8, 2015, at which time the airframe had 6,003.3 total hours, and each engine had 1,260.2 hours since major overhaul. The accident flight was 2.9 hours after the inspection.
The fuel system comprised four bladder tanks: inboard main tanks (56 gallons each) and outboard auxiliary tanks (40 gallons each), totaling 192 gallons (182 useable). Each main tank had a flapper valve at the fuel pickup. The right main tank bladder had a manufacture year of 1994; the left main tank bladder was replaced in 2004. No logbook entry for right main bladder replacement was found.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage came to rest upright in a marsh with the landing gear retracted. Both engines separated from their wings; the right wing outboard section and left wingtip also separated. The left engine fuel selector was positioned to the left auxiliary tank; the right engine selector to the right main tank. Fuel was observed in both left tanks, and about 13 gallons were drained from the left wing. No fuel was observed in the right main or auxiliary tank; the right auxiliary tank was compromised. The right main tank bladder had a 1-inch tear near the fuel vent. The right main flapper valve was absent; the left main flapper valve was installed.
In the cockpit, the pilot's seatbelt and shoulder harness were intact. The throttle, mixture, and propeller levers for both engines were forward; the control pedestal was canted right (consistent with movement by first responders). The battery master, both magnetos, and emergency fuel boost pumps were on; alternator switches were off. The right engine firewall fuel shut-off lever was partially engaged, but the valve at the wing root was open. The flaps were retracted. Rudder trim was full nose-right; elevator trim neutral; aileron trim about 1/4-scale right. Control continuity was confirmed from the ailerons, rudder, and elevator to the mid-cabin area.
Teardown examination of the left propeller showed all four blades attached, three bent aft and one forward, with leading edge gouging and chordwise scratching consistent with powered rotation; blades were in the feather position. Right propeller blades were all attached and bent aft, with rotational scoring and leading edge damage less than the left; they were in a normal operating position near the low pitch stop.
Additional Information
A JPI engine monitor showed the right engine exhaust gas temperature (EGT) decreased from about 1,300°F to 800°F at 1225:15 (JPI clock ~5 min behind ATC), increased to 1,200°F, then decreased to 200°F at 1226:00, around the time of the right turn. Left engine EGT remained between 1,150°F and 1,400°F until 1228:40. The JPI did not store fuel flow or quantity. A Shadin fuel flow indicator displayed 561.4 gallons used and 0.0 remaining, but required manual reset after each fueling.
Toxicological testing of the pilot's blood (drawn at the hospital on the day of the accident) identified acetone, methanol (0.003 gm/dl), and ethanol (0.037 gm/dl). Assuming the blood was drawn at 1400, the pilot's ethanol level at departure (1010) was estimated between 0.077 and 0.177 gm/dl. The pilot had reported chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and used an inhaled combination medication (budesonide/formoterol), which is not considered impairing. His cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner was accident.