Palm Beach County Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Boynton Beach, Florida 33425
Monday, January 17, 1994 10:17 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT STATED THAT BEFORE DEPARTURE THE FUEL TANKS EACH CONTAINED 20 GALLONS OF FUEL AND HE PERFORMED A PREFLIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE WHICH INCLUDED CHECKING THE FUEL TANKS FOR CONTAMINANTS; NONE WERE FOUND. BEFORE DEPARTURE HE ALSO PERFORMED AN ENGINE RUN-UP AND EACH MAGNETO DROP WAS NO MORE THAN 50 RPM WITH A DIFFERENTIAL DROP OF NO MORE THAN 25 RPM. THE FLIGHT DEPARTED RUNWAY 9 CLIMBED TO 1,000 FEET AND THE ENGINE EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER AND BEGAN TO BACKFIRE. THE PILOT REPOSITIONED THE FUEL SELECTOR, TURNED ON THE AUXILIARY FUEL PUMP, BUT DID NOT CHECK THE MAGNETOS NOR APPLY CARBURETOR HEAT. THE AIRPLANE WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN ALTITUDE AND THE PILOT DITCHED THE AIRPLANE IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT RECOVERED; THEREFORE, NO DETERMINATION COULD BE MADE AS TO THE REASON FOR THE REPORTED LOSS OF ENGINE POWER.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

PARTIAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER FOR UNDETERMINED REASONS.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/17/1994
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1017
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City BOYNTON BEACH
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33425
Event Date Year 1994
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PALM BEACH COUNTY PARK
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LNA
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 6
Degrees magnetic from airport 123
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 956 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 330
Weather Observation Facility ID PBI
Elevation of weather observation facility 19
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 9
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4300
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 3600
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 23
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 16
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 576
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 17 1994 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1223
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2000 10:25AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2338T
NTSB Number MIA94LA056
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-180
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-180
Aircraft Serial Number 28-7105207
Certified Max Gross Weight 2400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Nov 29 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 20
Airframe Hours 6000
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KATES, JEFF A.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 704 CLUB DR.
Aircraft Owner City PALM BCH GARD
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33418
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code LNA
Departure City WEST PALM BCH
Departure State FL
Departure Country
Departure Time 1012
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Climb
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --