Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood

The scheduled passenger flight departed without a flight plan and was last heard from while descending in attempt to remain in VFR conditions. Witnesses on the ground stated that there was extremely heavy rain and thunderstorms at the time of the accident. The wreckage was located the next day and evidence indicated that the airplane hit the ground in a 50° nose down attitude at a high rate of speed. Both occupants were killed.

The pilot stated that while in level flight the left engine failed and he observed a fire warning light and shut the engine down, the right engine then began to run rough and lose power. He then restarted the left engine but neither developed enough power to sustain flight. He executed a forced landing on a highway and struck a vehicle and a fire erupted. Examination of the left engine revealed a cross threaded fuel nozzle fitting and soot patterns aft of it. No cause for the right engine failure was found. No evidence of an annual inspection was found.

After encountering icing conditions in flight and experiencing problems maintaining altitudes and headings, the pilot elected to divert from his planned destination of Dayton, OH to Knoxville, TN. While on final approach after descending 1,300 feet below minimum procedure turn altitude followed by being told the aircraft was well above the glideslope, ATC instructed the pilot to maintain 3,000 feet. Shortly thereafter, ATC reported the mode C indicated 1,900. The pilot responded with 'engine quit'. The aircraft crashed in a pasture about 1 mile from the airport. The investigation revealed that the aircraft was not equipped to operate in icing conditions. The evidence indicated that the flaps and landing gear were extended. Approximately 40 lbs of cocaine were found onboard the aircraft. The tox report for the pilot disclosed .05 mg/l benzoylecognite (cocaine metabolite) in his blood. The pilot had received a weather briefing which included a freezing level at 7,000 feet and filed a flight plan requesting a cruising altitude of 14,000 feet. Both occupants were killed.

The aircraft had been abandoned in the Bahamas for approximately 7 months. A pilot, with no known flight time in a Cessna 421, flew it to Fort Lauderdale. Except to avoid clouds, he made the flight at a low altitude and airspeed. When asked why, he said he was trying to save the engines. The pilot then departed toward an area of dark clouds and thunderstorms. When he did not arrive at the destination, a search was initiated. The aircraft was found 4 days later where it crashed in a steep nose down attitude. Radar data showed the aircraft made several heading changes and was returning to the dep airport before it crashed. The forward part of the aircraft was buried in a swamp, but the aft edges of the wings, fuselage and empennage were visible above water. The props had rotational damages; no preimpact mechanical failure or malfunction was evident. An exam of the right eng revealed its #2 pushrods and rocker arms/shafts/retainers had been removed before flight. Also, a #2 spark plug was stowed with its ignition lead attached. The aircraft owner was not found. The pilot's medical certificate was dated 5/28/85.

The pilot reported to ground personnel at Fort Lauderdale that he was experiencing an avionics problem and the passenger entry door was sprung the day before when it was slammed; however, the pilot elected to depart. The aircraft wreckage was located on June 19 in the Everglades near Coral Springs, Florida. The aircraft impacted in a nose low attitude. Wreckage was scattered over an area 211 feet long by 55 feet wide. Investigation revealed no preimpact mechanical malfunctions/failures. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

Shortly after takeoff on a check-out flight the aircraft was observed on crosswind leg to descend until impact. There was an extensive post impact fire. Witnesses heard the aircraft make a 'poof' type of noise just as the pilot radioed the control tower and stated that he was experiencing an emergency of unknown nature. The paper air filter element for the left engine exhibited the presence of oil, and the left side of the aircraft had evidence of oil spatter and streaking. Both occupants were killed.

Pilot ditched aircraft in Atlantic Ocean after losing power in both engines. The three occupants escaped uninjured and were picked up by a nearby boat. The aircraft sank in approximately 800 feet of water about 5 minutes after ditching. Post accident inspection of operator records along with a statement from the previous pilot who flew the aircraft revealed that approximately 26 pounds of fuel remained on board the aircraft at the time of the accident. Cessna Aircraft Company representative stated that the cessna 402C aircraft has an unusable fuel capacity of 44.4 pounds in critical flight attitudes and that this figure is lower in more normal attitudes.

Delta Air Lines flight 191 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight between Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL), and Los Angeles, CA (LAX), with an en route stop at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, TX (DFW). Flight 191, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar airplane, departed Fort Lauderdale on an IFR flight plan with 152 passengers and a crew of 11 on board at 15:10 EDT. The DFW Airport terminal weather forecast contained in the flightcrew's dispatch document package stated, in part, that there was a possibility of widely scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, becoming isolated after 20:00 CDT. The flight was uneventful until passing New Orleans, Louisiana. A line of weather along the Texas-Louisiana gulf coast had intensified. The flightcrew elected to change their route of flight to the more northerly Blue Ridge arrival route to avoid the developing weather to the south. This change necessitated a 10 to 15-minute hold at the Texarkana, Arkansas, VORTAC for arrival sequencing at the DFW Airport. At 17:35, the flightcrew received the following ATIS broadcast: "DFW arrival information romeo, two one four seven Greenwich, weather six thousand scattered, two one thousand scattered, visibility one zero, temperature one zero one, dew point six seven, wind calm, altimeter two niner niner two, runway one eight right one seven left, visual approaches in progress, advise approach control that you have romeo". Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) then cleared flight 191 to the Blue Ridge, Texas, VORTAC for the Blue Ridge Nine arrival, and to begin its descent. At 17:43:45, Fort Worth ARTCC cleared flight 191 to descend to 10,000 feet, gave it a 29.92 in Hg altimeter setting, and suggested that the flight turn to a heading-of 250 degrees "to join the Blue Ridge zero one zero radial inbound and we have a good area there to go through.!' The captain replied that he was looking at a "pretty good size" weather cell, "at a heading of two five five ... and I'd rather not go through it, I'd rather go around it one way or the other." Fort Worth ARTCC then gave the flight another heading and stated "when I can I'll turn you into Blue Ridge, it'll be about the zero one zero radial." At 17:46, the center cleared flight 191 direct to Blue Ridge and to descend to 9,000 feet, and flight 191 acknowledged receipt of the clearance. At 17:48, the captain told the first officer, "You're in good shape. I'm glad we didn't have to go through that mess. I thought sure he was going to send us through it." Three minutes later, the flight engineer said, "Looks like it's raining over Fort Worth." At 17:51, Forth Worth ARTCC instructed flight 191 to contact DFW Airport Approach Control. At 17:56:28, Regional Approach Control's Feeder East controller transmitted an all aircraft message which was received by flight 191. The message stated in part, "Attention, all aircraft listening... there's a little rainshower just north of the airport and they're starting to make ILS approaches ... tune up one oh nine one for one seven left." At 17:59, the first officer stated, "We're gonna get our airplane washed," and the captain switched to Regional Approach Control's Arrival Radar-1 (AR-1) frequency and told the controller that they were at 5,000 feet. At 18:00, the approach controller asked American Air Lines flight 351 if it was able to see the airport. (Flight 351 was two airplanes ahead of flight 191 in the landing sequence for runway 17L.) Flight 351 replied, "As soon as we break out of this rainshower we will." The controller then told flight 351 that it was 4 miles from the outer marker, and to join the localizer at 2,300 feet; the controller then cleared the flight for the ILS approach to runway 17L. At 18:00, the approach controller asked flight 191 to reduce its airspeed to 170 knots, and to turn left to 270 degrees; flight 191 then acknowledged receipt of the clearance. Flight 191 had been sequenced behind a Learjet 25 for landing on runway 17L. At 18:02, the approach controller told flight 191 that it was 6 miles from the outer marker, requested that it turn to 180 degrees to join the localizer at or above 2,300 feet, and stated, "Cleared for ILS one seven left approach." The flight acknowledged receipt of the transmission. At 18:03:03, the approach controller requested flight 191 "to reduce your speed to one six zero please," and the captain replied, "Be glad to." Thereafter, at 18:03:30, he broadcast, "And we're getting some variable winds out there due to a shower... out there north end of DFW." This transmission was received by flight 191. At 18:03:46, the approach controller requested flight 191 to slow to 150 KIAS, and to contact the DFW Airport tower. At 18:03:58, the captain, after switching to the tower's radio frequency, stated, "Tower, Delta one ninety one heavy, out here in the rain, feels good." The tower cleared the flight to land and informed it, "wind zero nine zero at five, gusts to one five." At 18:04:07, the first officer called for the before-landing check. The flightcrew confirmed that the landing gear was down and that the flaps were extended to 33 degrees, the landing flap setting. At 18:04:18, the first officer said, "Lightning coming out of that one." The captain asked, "What?" and the first officer repeated "Lightning coming out of that one." The captain asked, and at 18:04:23, the first officer replied, "Right ahead of us." Flight 191 continued descending along the final approach course. At 18:05:05 the captain called out "1,000 feet." At 18:05:19, the captain cautioned the first officer to watch his indicated airspeed and a sound identified as rain began. The captain then warned the first officer, "You're gonna lose it all of a sudden, there it is." The captain stated, "Push it up, push it way up." At 18:05:29, the sound of engines at high rpm was heard on the CVR, and the captain said "That's it." At 18:05:44, the Ground Proximity Warning System's (GPWS) "Whoop whoop pull up" alert sounded and the captain commanded "TOGA". The CVR recording ended at 18:05:58. Witnesses on or near State Highway 114 north of the airport saw flight 191 emerge from the rain about 1.25 miles from the end of runway 17L and then strike an automobile in the westbound lane of State Highway 114. Subsequent investigation showed that the airplane had touched down earlier and became airborne again before striking the automobile. After the plane struck the car and a light pole on the highway, other witnesses saw fire on the left side of the airplane in the vicinity of the wing root. The witnesses generally agreed that the airplane struck the ground in a left-wing-low attitude, and that the fuselage rotated counterclockwise after the left wing and cockpit area struck a water tank on the airport. A large explosion obscured the witnesses' view momentarily, and then the tail section emerged from the fireball, skidding backwards. The tail section finally came to rest on its left side with the empennage pointing south and was subsequently blown to an upright position by wind gusts. One hundred and thirty-four persons on board the airplane and the driver of the automobile which was struck by the airplane were killed in the accident; 27 persons on board the airplane and 1 rescue worker at the accident site were injured, 2 passengers on the airplane were uninjured.

While executing a night visual approach to runway 09 in visual meteorological conditions the aircraft was allowed to descend; crashing into water 2 miles short of the runway. The pilot was not familiar with the airport and failed to make use of a full instrument landing system and visual approach slope indicating system which were operational for runway 09 at the time of the accident. The pilot stated there were no mechanical malfunctions with the aircraft which attributed to the accident. The aircraft was equipped with a radar altimeter system which also was not used by the pilot. The pilot performed two missed approaches because the airport was not in sight. The accident occurred during the 3rd attempt. Neither the pilot-in-command nor the copilot were properly certificated for the flight.

This aircraft disappeared on a flight from Fort Lauderdale, FL to Bimini, Bahamas. After departure, the aircraft flight plan was activated by radio. This was the last communication with the aircraft. An itap radar readout revealed an aircraft flight that departed at the appropriate time. This target headed for Bimini, and after about 10 minutes, slowed to 90 knots airspeed. About 4 minutes later the target entered a 5,400 fpm rate of descent and disappeared off radar. Two witnesses saw an aircraft crash into the water near Bimini between 0830 and 0900 on 3/31. The missing aircraft departed Fort Lauderdale at 0823 on 3/31/84. Th aircraft and all six occupants were not recovered. The injury index and acft damage are presumed.