Piper PA-32-260 accident near Key West, Florida, August 9, 2001
On August 9, 2001 at about 4:15 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-260, registered N5569J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Key West, Florida. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed; 1 other was unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inadvertent disabling of the throttle in the idle position during a cockpit disturbance created when an armed hijacker forcibly attempted to cause the aircraft to fly to Cuba, resulting in a loss of controllability of power for sustainable flight and an emergency descent and ditching.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 9, 2001 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Key West, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-260 · all PA-32-260s on the register
- Registration
- N5569J · registry record · serial 32-1053
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, the flight was planned as a commercial sight-seeing flight in the Key West vicinity. The customers were an elderly Hispanic couple who spoke little English. Upon reaching cruising altitude, the male passenger left his seat, encroached into the cockpit, produced a knife, turned the radios and transponder off, and demanded to be flown to Cuba. In an attempt to thwart the hijacking, the pilot pitched over to produce negative "g" to disable the hijacker, and headed back to Key West. In the ensuing struggle, the hijacker fell against and bent the retarded throttle. Attempts to straighten the throttle shaft snapped it off, and an idle power ditching was conducted. At water impact, forward motion stopped violently, and the lap-belted passengers appeared to lose consciousness. The pilot egressed from the right cockpit door, inflated his life vest, and swam to the passenger door to extricate the passengers, but the aircraft started sinking before he could get the door open. The passengers went down with the aircraft, and the pilot was rescued by a U. S. Navy helicopter. Neither aircraft nor passengers have been recovered to date.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,000 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: April 1, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,886 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 28, 2001
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-E4B5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: EYW Key 'West FL at 3:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 77°F (25°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from EYW, 41 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.