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MIA88FA142

1988-04-10 · VERO BEACH, Florida, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport X52

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO TOUCH DOWN ON RWY 36 WITH FULL FLAPS ON THE GRASS STRIP BORDERED ON BOTH SIDES BY CITRUS GROVES, SURFACE WINDS IN THE AREA WERE 120 DEGS AT 11 KTS. THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED TO DRIFT TO THE LEFT OFF THE RWY TOWARD THE GROVE. THE PLT WITNESSES STATED THAT FULL POWER WAS APPLIED & WITH FULL FLAPS STILL EXTENDED, A GO ARND WAS ATTEMPTED WITH THE NOSE IN AN EXTREME NOSE HI ATTITUDE. THE LT WING STRUCK THE TREES & THE ACFT PASSED OVER THE 225 FT WIDE GROVE, A CANAL, ROAD, & POWERLINES BEFORE CRASHING INTO A 40 FT HIGH PINE TREE WITH FULL FLAPS STILL EXTENDED & STILL IN AN EXTREME NOSE HI ATTITUDE. THE PLT OPERATING HANDBOOK FOR THE ACFT STATES 'FLAP DEFLECTIONS GREATER THAN 10 DEGREES ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR TAKE OFF.' THE PILOT LATER SAID HE HAD NO RECOLLECTION OF THE FLT OR ACCIDENT. THE PLT-RATED PAX SEATED IN THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT SUSTAINED SEVERE HEAD INJURIES AND WAS NOT WEARING HIS SHOULDER HARNESS. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_MIA88FA142.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.