The airplane crashed on a dirt road in a mining facility at about 0815 Eastern time. Visual conditions prevailed. The Airline Transport pilot and passenger received fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. Shortly after takeoff, a witness working in the mining facility heard an airplanes engine go into idle or shut off. He looked up and the airplane was at about 800 feet agl in a nose-down dive, spiraling counter-clockwise. The witness heard what he believed to be an attempt to start the engines. He observed the airplane do three-to-four nose-down spins before it straightened out after both the engines restarted. The airplane then went into a flat spin, spinning to the left, at an altitude of about 4-to-500 feet agl. Shortly, the airplane passed from view behind trees and the witness heard a loud crunching sound.
July 9, 2007, Nichols, Fla., Piper PA-30
The airplane crashed on a dirt road in a mining facility at about 0815 Eastern time. Visual conditions prevailed. The Airline Transport pilot and passenger received fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. Shortly after takeoff, a witness working in the mining facility heard an airplanes engine go into idle or shut off. He looked up and the airplane was at about 800 feet agl in a nose-down dive, spiraling counter-clockwise.
Key Takeaways:
- An airplane crashed in a mining facility shortly after takeoff, resulting in fatal injuries for both occupants and destruction of the aircraft.
- A witness observed the airplane at 800 feet AGL after its engine idled or shut off, entering a nose-down, counter-clockwise spiral.
- The aircraft performed multiple spins, briefly straightened out after apparent engine restarts, but then entered a flat spin at a lower altitude before crashing.
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