What happened
On the night of November 3, 2002, a Piper PA-31-350 with registration N74946 was involved in a fatal accident near Cambita, Dominican Republic. The aircraft was performing an international cross-country flight, having departed from Nassau, The Bahamas. While the flight was originally intended to conclude in Port-au-Prince, the crew diverted to Santo Domingo after encountering intense weather conditions at the original destination.
During the flight, the aircraft experienced a loss of power to both engines. This failure necessitated an emergency forced landing. Upon attempting to land, the plane struck the terrain, resulting in the destruction of the aircraft. The accident resulted in one fatality and two serious injuries, involving the pilot and two passengers.
Findings
At the time of the incident, the flight was operating under instrument flight rules (IFR) during night visual meteorological conditions. The primary factor leading to the crash was the total loss of engine power during the flight sequence.