New details of 2 fatal plane crashes from Venice airport revealed in NTSB reports
After seven people died in two plane crashes near the Venice airport within months of each other, the National Transportation Safety Board reports have detailed what happened.
On April 5, two married couples from Indiana were killed when their plane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico shortly after taking off from Venice Municipal Airport.
On Dec. 3, 2022, a family of three died shortly after takeoff.
Pilots in both crashes were flying Piper model planes taking off on runway 23, and both were returning to the St. Petersburg area after leaving from there earlier in the day.
The NTSB recently released findings from its investigation into the April crash that claimed the lives of William Jeffery Lumpkin, 64, of Fishers, Indiana, who flew the plane. His wife, Patricia Ann Lumpkin, 68, was a passenger, as were Ricky Joe Beaver, 60, and his wife, Elizabeth Beaver, 57, both of Noblesville, Indiana.
The Lumpkins’ pastor, Nathan Peternel, told the Bradenton Herald their church has been heartbroken over the couple’s deaths, especially Peternel’s son who William Lumpkin was training to be a pilot.
Night takeoff
According to the NTSB, there was nothing wrong with the single-engine Piper PA-32R airplane Lumpkin was flying before it crashed from 100 feet in the air into the water.
“Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact failures or malfunctions of the airframe, engine or propeller that would have precluded normal operation,” the report said.
According to the report, the wind was calm, visibility was 10 miles, and the sky was clear the night the couples took off from the airport after dinner at Sharky’s On the Pier restaurant in Venice, returning to Albert Whitted Airport (SPG) in St. Petersburg.
The moon was full and had risen for more than two hours before they took off at 9:35 p.m.
The plane took off from runway 23 and reached a height of 300 feet before it started to turn right, then plummet over the next 14 seconds. .
Surveillance video from Venice Airport Festival Grounds and the Venice Fishing Pier showed the airplane took off “over dark water with no discernible horizon,” began a “shallow climb,” and then started a right turn before the runway lights extinguished. The report said the airplane peaked in altitude, descended rapidly and crashed into the Gulf.
The fuselage was destroyed on impact. The top portion of the cabin and right wing were not recovered, but everything else was found near the wreckage.
It was not the plane’s first crash. WFTX-TV FOX 4 reported the plane was previously damaged in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and was listed on an internet auction website, where it was described as having aircraft gear failure and was sold as-is for $43,000 in 2020.
Lumpkin registered the plane in June 2021, the same day he obtained his BasicMed certificate, according to FOX 4.
FAA records show he held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, and instrument airplane.
Pilots also are required by the FAA to pass a health inspection. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on June 3, 2016. He had accrued approximately 1,221 total flight hours by then.
An alternative to an FAA medical certificate is a less stringent one called BasicMed. Lumpkin received that certification on June 17, 2021.
Pilot was training a protégé
The Lumpkins’ pastor and family friend, Nathan Peternel, told the Bradenton Herald that the church, and especially his son, Jonathan, were heartbroken by his death.
Peternel said that given Lumpkin’s experience flying, he didn’t suspect disorientation to be a factor in the crash or the condition of the plane, but he believes his age may have.
“Did he have a heart attack? He wasn’t that high above the water. If he slumped into the yoke, did that cause things to go down quicker, and there’s panic in the cabin and they can’t adjust quick enough? But I highly doubt something was wrong with the plane,” Peternel said.
“He took immaculate care of that plane. In fact, my son Jonathan would go help him work on the plane on Saturdays,” said Peternel. “He was showing some of the new technology he had invested into the GPS. He had some very sharp equipment on it.”
Peternel said that because of his age, Lumpkin was taking steps to become a flight instructor and that his son Jonathan was going to be his protégé.
Jonathan and Lumpkin had plans to attend flight school in Arizona this fall so Lumpkin could get his flight instructor certification.
“After a certain age, they don’t want you flying anymore. You have to have somebody younger in the plane with you, so you’re technically training them to fly. That was his plan,” Peternel said.
Since Lumpkin’s death, Peternel said, “Jonathan decided not to become a pilot. He decided to go into ministry. He said it was a little too fresh for him to talk about Jeff, but he loved him.”
December crash report
The December crash took the lives of Christian Kath, 42, his wife Misty Kath, 43, and their daughter Lily, 12, other media reported. The family had reportedly flown to Venice for dinner, and their youngest child, a 10-year-old daughter, was at a sleepover at a friend’s house.
The crash happened at 7:38 p.m. during takeoff. Sunset was at 5:35 p.m., and by the time of the crash it was dark with visibility of 7 miles and winds at 7 knots (8 mph). Skies were cloudy but not overcast.
The plane had left St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) that afternoon and was returning.
The plane first lifted from the runway at 7:37 about 4,100 feet from the end of the 5,000-foot runway going 88 knots. Over the next 900 feet, the plane accelerated to 90 knots and climbed 50 feet, then over the next 4 seconds reached 94 knots and 75 feet before descending.
At 7:38, the plane was going 109 knots at ground level, 1,800 feet beyond the end of runway 23.
“Airport surveillance video from the time of the accident depicted an airplane departing runway 23 with little to no angle of climb into a dark sky over dark water with no discernable horizon.”
The pilot got his private pilot certificate on July 31, 2022, with a rating for airplane single-engine land, and an FAA third-class medical certificate issued Jan. 27, 2022. He had declared 10 total hours of flight experience on that date.
The plane was made in 1976 and recently inspected on Nov. 2. The pilot rented it from the same operator where he received 74 hours of flight training.
“Local emergency services and a commercial ocean salvage operator recovered most of the wreckage from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, beneath about 15 ft of water,” the report said.
“The engine exam revealed no pre-impact mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation.”
