Cessna 172S accident near Palm Beach, Florida, March 28, 2005
On March 28, 2005 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Cessna 172S, registered N53589, was substantially damaged in an accident near Palm Beach, Florida. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The flight crews inadvertent encounter with turbulence in clouds while being vectored by ATC while operating in instrument meteorological conditions. A factor in the accident was the ATC personnel's (ARTCC) inadequate weather avoidance assistance.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 28, 2005 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Palm Beach, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172S · all 172Ss on the register
- Registration
- N53589 · no longer on the register · serial 9408
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
the instructional flight encountered turbulence while en route to the airport. According to the flight instructor/pilot the flight consisting of him and his student had progressed under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) until reaching the Palm Beach area, at which time an area of clouds were noted. He said that upon querying the Palm Beach Approach controller, with whom he was speaking, he was informed that Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) had been vectoring traffic through a "break" in the clouds. The instructor said that he received a radio communications handoff from Palm Beach Approach to Miami ARTCC, and on initial contact with Miami ARTCC, the Miami ARTCC controller provided a heading to steer, which he complied with. The controller did not provide weather intensity information. As the flight proceeded along the assigned heading, the pilot said he encountered rain, and turbulence, so he elected to make a 180-degree turn, and exit the precipitation. While performing the turn he said the airplane encountered a downdraft, with an immediate decrease of about 2,000 feet, followed by increased turbulence. In the course of the turbulence encounter he said that the airplane door hinge pins fractured, and the passenger side window detached from the airplane and impacted the right side horizontal stabilizer. The pilot said he declared an emergency, and subsequently landed at Palm Beach International Airport, Palm Beach, Florida, without further incident. At the time of the accident, the accident airplane was inside PBI's airspace but under control of Miami ARTCC. Miami ARTCC is equipped with digital weather display capability that is designated to show levels 2 through 6 on the VIP scale. FAA order 7110.65, "Air Traffic Control," paragraph 2-6-4, "Weather and Chaff Services," states that controllers shall issue the level of echo intensity when that information is available.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 680 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 45 in the last 30 days; 650 as pilot in command; 140 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Dual student
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,082 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-L2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TMB Miami FL at 1:45 pm
- Destination: SRQ Sarasota FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,500 ft; a few clouds at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.81 inHg
- Observation at 2:29 pm from PBI, 30 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.
Other NTSB records under N53589 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.