Piper PA-32-301 accident near Brooksville, Florida, February 28, 1983
On February 28, 1983 at about 4:17 am local time, a Piper PA-32-301, registered N28216, was destroyed in an accident near Brooksville, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 28, 1983 · about 4:17 am local time
- Place
- Brooksville, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-301 · all PA-32-301s on the register
- Registration
- N28216 · registry record · serial 328006
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT DISAPPEARED FROM RADAR DURING DESCENT FROM 4000 FT MSL TO 2000 FT MSL. INVESTIGATION REVEALED SIGMET BRAVO 3 IN EFFECT IN THE AREA OF THE ACCIDENT AT THE TIME OF THE CRASH. THE TRANSCRIPT OF RADIO COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE FLT SHOWS NO IN-FLT WEATHER BRIEFINGS. THE SIGMET BRAVO 3 WARNED THAT THERE WAS MODERATE TO SEVERE TURBULENCE IN THE AREA DUE TO STRONG LOW LEVEL WINDS; A LOW LEVEL WINDSHEAR POTENTIAL EXISTED BELOW 4000 FT MSL. THE PLT HAD BEEN CLEARED TO DESCEND TO 2000 FT MSL AT 2312. THE PLT ACKNOWLEDGED THE TRANSMISSION. AT 2312+41 THE PLT WAS ADVISED TO CHANGE RADIOFREQUENCIES AND THE PLT ACKNOWLEDGED. AT 2313 THE APPROACH CONTROLLER LOST THE FLTS RADAR CONTACT AND CALLED THE FLT. THERE WERE NO FURTHER RADIO CONTACT WITH THE FLT. AT 2318 RESIDENTS IN THE AREA OF BROOKSVILLE ADVISED THE SHERIFF THAT A SMALL ACFT HAD CRASHED. THE PA-32-301 PLTS HANDBOOK SHOWS A VA SPEED OF 110 KTS AS THE LIMITATION FOR TURBULENT AIR PENETRATION. THE ATC RADAR ITAP READOUT SHOWS THE ACFT SPEED BEFORE RADAD CONTACT WAS LOST AT ABOUT 168 KTS.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,934 hours in all; 1,300 in this make and model; 360 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 2,223 as pilot in command; 403 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,850 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 8, 1983; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Capital Aviation Services
The flight
- Departed from: TLH Tallahassee FL at 2:47 am
- Destination: LAL Lakeland FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 110° at 10 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:43 am from TPA, 35 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.