Piper PA-23-250 accident near Lake Wales, Florida, September 11, 2004
On September 11, 2004 at about 9:28 am local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N962AB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lake Wales, Florida. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and preparation, and his inadequate visual lookout, which resulted in a collision with a television tower.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 11, 2004 · about 9:28 am local time
- Place
- Lake Wales, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N962AB · no longer on the register · serial 27-3869
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a night Mosquito Control Spraying operation the airplane collided with a 520-foot television tower 20-feet below the top. Witnesses stated they could hear the airplane and could see its marker lights, but did not see lights on the tower. At 0330, an automobile accident knocked out electrical power which included electrical power to the television tower. The pilot did not obtain a weather or preflight briefing prior to the flight which would have also provided him with NOTAM information stating that the power and lights had failed on the tower. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,500 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model
- Last flight review: March 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,331 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2004; 19 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,200 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: X07 Lake Wales Mun FL at 8:15 am
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 050° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 77°F (25°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from ORL, 40 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.