What happened
On the morning of the accident, a flight departed from Destini Florida Airport, Destin, Florida, at approximately 08:32 CST, with a planned destination of Marsh Harbor, Bahamas. Before departure, the pilot had consulted Eglin Clearance Delivery for a weather update and established a flight plan designed to bypass active severe thunderstorms in the region. During the initial stages of the flight, Eglin South Approach Control provided vectors to navigate around the weather cells.
At 08:41:30, the aircraft was transferred to Tyndall Approach Control. During this transition, the flight was notified that they were approaching a weather line extending for 15 miles. Shortly after, at 08:44:10, Tyndall Approach Control issued a hazardous weather alert to all aircraft in the area. The controller noted that their facility lacked the high-resolution weather radar capabilities available at Eglin and advised the pilot to maintain the existing vector.
Approximately four minutes later, the pilot requested a block altitude clearance between 4,000 and 6,000 feet to accommodate frequent altitude changes. Following this acknowledgment, there were no further radio communications from the aircraft. The aircraft type impacted the ground near Greenhead, Florida, resulting in five fatalities and the total destruction of the plane. Local reports from the property owner at the crash site described intense wind, lightning, heavy rain, and thunder during the period of the accident.
Findings
An investigation involving a meteorological study and analysis of weather data, alongside the flight track, determined that the aircraft encountered a level 5 thunderstorm.