What happened
On May 10, 2025, a Piper PA-3ableRT-300, registration N30689, was destroyed during a takeoff accident near Yulee, Florida. The flight was a short repositioning maneuver of approximately 3.9 nautical miles from Nassau Airport (83FL) to Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport (FHB).
Prior to departure, the pilot had driven to the destination airport to drop off his spouse and several dogs to wait out approaching thunderstorms. Surveillance video from a hangar near runway 12 at 83FL captured the aircraft taxiing with the nose baggage door closed. However, during the takeoff roll, the video showed the nose baggage door had become open.
Immediately after liftoff, the aircraft was observed in a nose-high angle of attack. Witnesses reported the wings rocking before the left wing dropped. The aircraft entered a steep, left-wing-low descent and impacted trees and the ground approximately 10 seconds after departing the runway. The pilot sustained 1 fatal injury.
Items including a bag of dog food and a case of aviation oil were found on the runway, having likely exited the open nose baggage compartment during the takeoff roll. At the time of the accident, moderate to heavy intensity thunderstorms were moving through the area, and a SIGMET advisory was in effect.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage at the accident site, where the fuselage and much of the aircraft were consumed by postimpact fire. The initial impact point was a broken tree branch 40 feet up a tree, with the wreckage coming to rest 15 feet from a ground crater.
Mechanical analysis of the engine and airframe revealed no preaccident malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation. The propeller blades showed aft bending and chordwise scratching, and the engine's internal components, including the cylinders and vacuum pump, were found to be intact. Flight control continuity for the ailerons, rudder, and stabilator was confirmed.
An estimated weight and balance calculation, accounting for fuel, baggage, and the items found on the runway, indicated the aircraft was within its flight envelope for both the initial takeoff and a scenario where the nose baggage door contents had been lost.