Palm Beach County Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lake Worth, Florida 33461
Thursday, January 22, 2004 11:48 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported shortly after the takeoff from runway 27 that he was returning to land with a lost of power in one of the engines. The airplane subsequently crashed in a residential area, collided with trees, powerlines, and came to rest in the yard of a residence. Witnesses observed the flight fly the downwind leg for runway 27 at 400 feet. The flight then turned on the base leg while descending and then overshot the final leg. While at an altitude of 100-150 feet the flight continued turning toward the runway and the bank angle increased to 50-60 degrees and the nose dropped down.. Recorded radar shows the flight climbed to 3,000 feet while maintaining a southwesterly heading. The flight turned left back to the airport and began a descent from which he entered downwind for runway 27 at an altitude of between 400 and 500 feet, while about 1/4 mile south of the runway, at a groundspeed of between 95 and 105 knots. The flight turned onto base leg at an altitude of about 300 feet, while about 1/2 mile from the arrival end of runway 27, at an approximate groundspeed of between 75 and 80 knots. The last radar contact showed the airplane at an altitude of 82 feet at a groundspeed of 66 knots. The examination of the airplane did not reveal evidence of mechanical malfunction. The Owner's Handbook for the Piper PA23-160 showed that the stall speed for the airplane with wing flaps down and engine power off is 53 knots. Stall speed would increase about 25 percent at a bank angle of 50 degrees and 40 percent at a bank angle of 60 degrees. This would increase stall speed to between 66 and 74 knots at the reported bank angle of 50-60 degrees used by the pilot.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate control of the aircraft by his use of an excessive bank angle, and his failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in a stall and a loss of control following a loss of power in one engine. The reason for the loss of the engine power was not determined.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/22/2004
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1148
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Lake Worth
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33461
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 263526N
Event Location Longitude 0800434W
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 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 90
Airport Elevation 14
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1153 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 360
Weather Observation Facility ID PBI
Elevation of weather observation facility 19
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 310
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.15
Density Altitude (feet) 740
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17607
NTSB Notification Source Channel 10 TV News
NTSB Notification Date Jan 22 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1210
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2005 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Ft. Lauderdale

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4293P
NTSB Number MIA04FA047
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-23-160
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 23-1793
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
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 5
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Dec 4 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 19
Airframe Hours 6334
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Donald W. Dubois
Aircraft Owner Street Address 790 Andrews Ave., Apt. E103
Aircraft Owner City Delray Beach
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33483
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 Lantana
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1140
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code X01
Destination City Everglades City
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach - VFR pattern - final approach
Report sent to ICAO? Yes
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 9
Runway Length 3489
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --