Piper PA-32-300 accident near Floridana, Florida, January 15, 1985
On January 15, 1985 at about 1:05 pm local time, a Piper PA-32-300, registered N1496X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Floridana, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- January 15, 1985 · about 1:05 pm local time
- Place
- Floridana, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32-300 · all PA-32-300s on the register
- Registration
- N1496X · no longer on the register · serial 32-7440165
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING CRUISE FLIGHT THE PILOT NOTED THE ENGINE WAS VIBRATING SEVERELY AND SPRAYING OIL AND THEN FAILED. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE #2 CYLINDER CONNECTING ROD HAD FAILED IN OVERLOAD. A SMALL PIECE OF GEAR TOOTH WAS FOUND INSIDE THE ENGINE THE ENGINE AND IT EXHIBITED EVIDENCE OF FATIGUE FAILURE MODES.THE LOOSE GEAR TOOTH WAS FREE TO MOVE THROUGH THE ENGINE CAVITY AND INITIATE OTHER FAILURES.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,813 hours in all; 140 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 1,686 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,583 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 27, 1984; 398 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-KIA5 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Chapman Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: FXE Fort Lauderdale FL at 12:17 pm
- Destination: MLB Melbourne FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 320° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:52 pm from MLB, 4 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.