Aaa Aircraft Leasing 192 accident near Miami, Florida, December 6, 2002
On December 6, 2002 at about 1:40 am local time, a Aaa Aircraft Leasing 192, registered N192FW, was destroyed in an accident near Miami, Florida. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The inflight fire of undetermined origin, which resulted in pilot incapacitation, loss of aircraft control and an inflight collision with a building.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 6, 2002 · about 1:40 am local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aaa Aircraft Leasing 192
- Registration
- N192FW · no longer on the register · serial FW02050001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft was en route at night when it made several course changes before air traffic control (ATC) lost radio and radar contact with the flight. Witnesses saw the airplane descend to the ground in a nose-down attitude and collided with a building. The body the pilot, who had occupied the right-front seat, was found some distance from the aircraft. He sustained burns injuries over 25 percent of his body. The impact damage precluded determination of the cause of the fire. During the flight, ATC replied no to the pilots query if other flights were reporting the smell of smoke. The investigation revealed a powered six-movement automotive seat was installed the in the left front position. The seat was powered by three motors of which in their original automotive installation were protected by a 30-amp circuit breaker; however, when installed in the aircraft was changed to a 5-amp breaker. In this installation the failure of the motor resulted in the opening of the breaker. If the breaker did not open, the switch would fail which was preceded by the motor overheating. After the installation there were instances of the circuit breaker tripping when the seat had a "larger" occupant. During the accident flight, the pilot-rated passenger who occupied the seat was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed 231 pounds. The possibility existed for one of the motors for the seat to overheat, and ignite the seat cushion.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,400 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
Co-pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 94 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 25, 2002
- Maximum gross weight: 2,800 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Four Winds Aircraft
The flight
- Departed from: MTH Marathon FL at 1:00 am
- Destination: EVB New Smyrna Bch FL
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 170° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; a few clouds at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.01 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 am from KMIA, 3 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.