What happened
On April 3, 2012, a Hawker Beechcraft C90GTx, registered N8116L, was involved in an accident in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 17 miles north of Aruba. The aircraft, which was being operated by Lider Taxi Aereo, was performing a delivery flight from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Florida to Hato International Airport in Curacao.
While the aircraft was in the cruise phase of flight, it suffered a simultaneous loss of power in both engines. Following this failure, the crew performed a ditching in the ocean waters. At approximately 1120 AST, the vessel Amsterdam reached the location of the incident. The aircraft was found partially submerged in the sea.
During the recovery efforts, the crew of the Amsterdam attempted to secure the aircraft using a cable to hoist it onto the vessel. During this process, the structural integrity of the airframe failed, causing the fuselage to split into two pieces, which led to the aircraft sinking.
Findings
- The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 regulations.
- Weather conditions at the time of the incident were within visual meteorological limits.
- There were zero fatalities and zero injuries reported among the pilot and the rated passenger.