What happened
The incident occurred during the landing phase as the aircraft approached the water near Pensacola. The plane failed to maintain altitude or control sufficiently to clear the shoreline, causing it to impact the surface of Escambia Bay. The crash resulted in significant casualties on board, with three crew members killed and two others sustaining injuries. No specific aircraft registration or model is provided in the available source material.
Findings
The source text does not provide detailed contributing factors or official investigation conclusions regarding the mechanical failure, pilot error, or environmental conditions that led to the crash.