Pilatus PC-12 Crashes in Florida, Killing Six

The flight path of the Pilatus PC-12 before it
crashed southeast of Lakeland.

A Pilatus PC-12 carrying a family of six crashed in Central Florida on Thursday, killing all six individuals aboard after what appears to have been an in-flight separation of the aircraft, authorities say.

Just 30 minutes prior to the crash, the single-engine turboprop had made a stopover to clear customs in Fort Pierce, Florida, while on what was to be a trip home from the Bahamas to Junction City, Kansas.

Images from FlightAware show the Pilatus PC-12 heading on a continuous northwest flight path after leaving Fort Pierce before veering sharply off-course to the right and continuing on for several miles before the crash. According to the NTSB, the aircraft had been flying at an altitude of 25,100 feet.

Search and rescue personnel found debris from the accident strewn more than three miles from the main crash site.

According to investigators, the wreckage indicated “a rupture in the cabin area of the plane while it was in the air.”

The PC-12/47 went down in a remote area within Tiger Creek Preserve, located southeast of Lakeland. Due to the secluded location, rescue and emergency personnel were forced to access the site via helicopter and all-terrain vehicles.

There was wet weather in the flight path area periodically throughout the day of the accident, however it is unclear whether or not it played a role in the crash.

The aircraft’s 45-year-old pilot Ronald Bramlage, his wife and four children were killed in the crash. All aboard were found within the aircraft, except for one of the children, a 13-year-old named Boston Bramlage, whose body was found approximately 0.4 mile away.

The accident has attracted the attention of the mainstream media due to the fact that the aircraft was the same one used to secretly transport Casey Anthony after she was released from jail following her acquittal on murder charges stemming from the death of her two-year-old daughter.

A preliminary report from the NTSB is expected within the next few weeks.

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Submitted by SRBigham on June 08, 2012.

The last statement about the Casey Anthony issue, does suggest sabotage. To my knowledge this is the first PC-12 to breakup in flight. I understand this was a Series 9, I've got 500+ hours in this series and they just seemed well built and not capable of such catastrophic failures unless fowl play is present.

The PC-12 did suffer from the poor application of the alternate throttle when the Fuel controller would develop pin holes. Pilots would over control the throttle dumping un-governed fuel into the combustion chamber burning up the most durable PT-6.

How unfortunate this loss of family. I'll be interested in the investigators report.

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Submitted by swbeyer on June 10, 2012.

I highly doubt that sabotage is a likely cause of this event. The Casey Anthony involvement was only on a single flight long ago. I'd surmise that a defective part or a maintenance error led to the in flight wing separation. It will be difficult to determine the root cause, but the NTSB will do their best.

I don't fault the Pilatus which has a good safety record, but obviously if there's a second incident like this one in the future, it would be cause for concern that the defect could be on other aircraft.

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Submitted by bc on June 11, 2012.

Does anyone doubt this was not related to flying directly into a thunderstorm, which the pilot was warned about?

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Submitted by pete480 on June 11, 2012.

I guess all we can do is wait and see. If you google "Pilatus PC-12 crash in FL", you can see pics. Looks like more than half of the right wing is gone. It either broke off in flight or when the plane crashed. The plane is mostly in one piece.

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Submitted by TerryReport com on June 12, 2012.

There are some sad clues to what might have happened both in the wreckage and in details of the crash scene. First, the aircraft is largely intact and appears to have damage that would be associated with crashing, such as portions of the wings being taken off and the body of the aircraft broken into pieces, but resting in one specific area. Those parts are not scattered. It seems unlikely that only a portion of the wings would have been taken off in flight, other than in a contact with another aircraft, which was not reported.

Second, one of the family members was found at some distance from the aircraft itself. This indicates the possibility that the door of the aircraft might have been breached in some manner, probably around the point that the pilot veered sharply off course. Had the aircraft broken into pieces in the air, those parts would have simply fallen in various places. It is always possible that some other breach of the structure of the fuselage occurred while in flight, but the door would be a likely place to look. In any case, since the aircraft was largely intact after impact, the parts are available for close inspection.

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Submitted by TerryReport com on June 12, 2012.

The Polk County Florida Sheriff reported the following, which would negate my earlier, speculative comment, if true:

"A large part of the right wing snapped off as the plane was coming down and caused a large hole in an area near a seat." (from a news report)

The Sheriff also reported that the body of the child found away from the aircraft was discovered about half a mile from the crash site. This might indicate that the pilot veered off course when there were signs of structural failure in the aircraft and eventually led to the crash. It is all speculation at this point, but I would wonder if lighting hit the plane at some point.

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Submitted by Martin E Haisman on June 12, 2012.

An accident investigation is a very precise methodical process that requires concise documentation of every known aspect of the aircraft and all associated media (ATC,DVR, CVR as applicable) and whiteness statements (Controllers, pilots in the area etc) the list is nearly endless. Elimination of non causal factors have to be made to ensure a complete investigation. What if it was the propellor that broke and hit the fuselage? What if there was an engine fire that went into the cabin? Avionics, tail separation, window blew out. Wing damage, when did it happen? You can not tell from a photo you have to be a trained investigator and be there. Speculation is a dangerous thing and to do the family and families justice it is best left to the NTSB and associated organisations. Hopefully a preliminary report will be out soon to give more detail.

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Submitted by FAAinspector on June 13, 2012.

FAA and NTSB have not released any information as to the cause of this accident. They are professionals trained to investigate and determine the factors involved with any aviation accident or incident.

This article uses the words 'it appears to be.......authorities say' or 'according to investigators, the wreckage indicates........'. I would have expected the author of this article to identify these individuals. This is all speculation to add interest to an already inaccurate report of this occurrence and ending with the titillating assumption that sabotage could be involved.

It's no wonder why these professionals, with a mandate by Congress to investigate these tragic circumstances,don't speculate. It's also the main reason why these professional investigators don't give interviews with the media.

My sympathies and condolences to the families .

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Submitted by swbeyer on June 14, 2012.

In the absence of a definitive report from the NTSB in regard to the cause of this tragic accident, there will inevitably be speculation in the media, by aviation experts and by amateurs on message boards. That is human nature and freedom of speech.

While I find it interesting to read discusssion as to the possible root causes of an aviation accident, I am most interested in reading the final report from the NTSB.

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Pilatus PC-12 Crashes in Florida, Killing Six

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