Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Friday, March 15, 2013 16:21 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The multiengine airplane had not been flown for about 4 months and was being prepared for export. The pilot was attempting a local test flight after avionics upgrades had been performed. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot transmitted that he was experiencing an "emergency"; however, he did not state the nature of the emergency. The airplane was observed experiencing difficulty climbing and entered a right turn back toward the airport. It subsequently stalled, rolled right about 90 degrees, and descended. The airplane impacted several parked vehicles and came to rest inverted. A postcrash fire destroyed the airframe. Both engines were destroyed by fire and impact damage. The left propeller assembly was fire damaged, and the right propeller assembly remained attached to the gearbox, which separated from the engine. Examination of wreckage did not reveal any preimpact malfunctions. It was noted that the left engine displayed more pronounced rotational signatures than the right engine, but this difference could be attributed to the impact sequence. The left propeller assembly displayed evidence of twisting and rotational damage, and the right propeller assembly did not display any significant evidence of twisting or rotational damage indicative of operation with a difference in power. The lack of flight recorders and the condition of the wreckage precluded the gathering of additional relevant information.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control following an emergency, the nature of which could not be determined because of crash and fire damage, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/15/2013
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1621
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Fort Lauderdale
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33309
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 261130N
Event Location Longitude 0800922W
Event Location Airport Fort Lauderdale Executive
Event Location Nearest Airport ID FXE
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 100
Airport Elevation 13
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1639 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 135
Weather Observation Facility ID FXE
Elevation of weather observation facility 13
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 1
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 8
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.16
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 3
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 3
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 33349
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern C-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2014 12:54PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N63CA
NTSB Number ERA13FA168
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-31T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 31T-7820033
Certified Max Gross Weight 9000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 8
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Continuous Airworthiness
Date of Last Inspection Jan 31 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 23
Airframe Hours 5006
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type C126
Aircraft Owner Name M.A.S. Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2901 SW 3rd Avenue
Aircraft Owner City Ft. Lauderdale
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 33315
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name M.A.S. Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address 2901 SW 3rd Avenue
Operator City Ft. Lauderdale
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 33315
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) Flight Test
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code FXE
Departure City Fort Lauderdale
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1620
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code FXE
Destination City Fort Lauderdale
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 21 2014 12:55PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 08
Runway Length 6002
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --