St. Lucie County International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Ft Pierce, Florida 34946
Thursday, November 5, 2009 15:34 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that during the landing gear retraction he heard a loud bang, followed by three to four smaller bangs. The first officer confirmed that the left engine was the affected engine and immediately began feathering the propeller. Once the propeller had been feathered, the captain confirmed the action by looking outside and noticing the propeller in the feathered position. The captain further reported that the right engine was producing the maximum power available and was indicating 55 inches of manifold pressure. Unable to achieve airspeed of greater than 95 to 96 knots indicated, the captain attempted to return to the airport for an emergency landing; however, he was unable to maintain altitude and attempted to land on an airport perimeter road, impacting the airport fence and a sand berm in the process. A cursory examination of the engine and system components revealed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A total loss of left engine power and subsequent failure of the airplane to maintain airspeed and altitude on the remaining engine for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/5/2009
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1534
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Ft Pierce
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 34946
Event Date Year 2009
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 272942N
Event Location Longitude 0802205W
Event Location Airport St. Lucie County International
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FPR
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 24
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID FPR
Elevation of weather observation facility 24
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Thin Broken
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 25
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 14
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 28462
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record May 25 2011 12:43PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N120FB
NTSB Number ERA10LA050
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name GRUMMAN AIRCRAFT ENG CORP
Aircraft Model G-111
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7243
Certified Max Gross Weight 30605
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 3
Cabin Crew Seats 1
Passenger Seats 11
Total number of seats on the aircraft 15
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Oct 12 2009 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 0
Airframe Hours 3747
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type C91-A
Aircraft Owner Name ALBATROSS ADVENTURES INC TRUSTEE
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City WILMINGTON
Aircraft Owner State DE
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19808
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name ALBATROSS ADVENTURES INC TRUSTEE
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City WILMINGTON
Operator State DE
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 19808
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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) Ferry
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code FPR
Departure City Ft Pierce
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1534
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code OBE
Destination City Okeechobee
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 25 2011 12:43PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 32
Runway Length 4755
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --