Plane crash history: 3 people were killed just after takeoff from Naples airport in 2002
A plane crash on Interstate 75 in Collier County on Friday (Feb. 9) involving a jet attempting to reach the Naples Municipal Airport only a few miles away, will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the worst aviation incidents in Southwest Florida.
The most recent we could find that was comparable to Friday's crash landing that resulted in the death of two of the five people on board occurred almost 22 years ago at the Naples airport.
According to a National Transportation Safety Board Factual Report on planecrashmap.com, a crash occurred at the Naples airport that resulted in three fatalities shortly after take off.
Collier County residents Chuck Scherer, 37, of Naples, Shawn M. King, 31, of North Naples and the pilot, Naples resident Cavin Robert Councilor, 38, were killed in the crash.
Here is what to know about the 2002 plane crash at the Naples airport:
On June 19, 2002, about 9:58 a.m. a Piper PA-46-310P, N9127L, registered to and operated by a private individual, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed shortly after takeoff from Naples Municipal Airport,
Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed.
The private-rated pilot and two passengers received fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed.
The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The mechanic who performed the annual inspection stated that after he completed the inspection, he tested the airplane by performing low and high power static tests for about 30 minutes.
He further stated that all tests were normal, and he then endorsed the logbooks, and returned the airplane to service. While the annual was being conducted, the mechanic said that the pilot arrived with two passengers, and was anxious to proceed on his planned flight to St. Petersburg, Florida.
After the airplane was returned to the pilot, the mechanic said he saw the pilot perform a short preflight, and then he and his passengers embarked the airplane, and taxied from the maintenance facility.
Information obtained from the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower showed that from the time the pilot requested a clearance to taxi, to the time the clearance was issued for takeoff on the active runway, was about 5 minutes.
The airplane was departing from runway 05, at Naples Municipal Airport, and according to witnesses, it was at a low altitude in the vicinity of the departure end of the runway, when all of a sudden it entered into a steep bank, followed by a nose-down pitch attitude, and subsequently it impacted the ground.
One of the witnesses stated that when he saw the airplane he did not hear the engine operating, and it appeared as if the propeller was moving slowly.
Another witness stated that when the noise of the airplane's engine ceased, it drew his attention to the airplane, and he then turned to see what was happening. He said he saw the airplane enter a steep bank to the right, and descend.
The FAA Air Traffic Control Tower controller on duty at the airport stated that he had watched the accident airplane as it was cleared onto the active runway. He said he then saw it proceed down the runway and climb to an altitude of about 50-to 75 feet above the runway, but at that time his attention was diverted to inbound traffic. He said that there had been no further radio communications transmissions with the pilot of the accident airplane after the takeoff clearance had been issued.
The airplane impacted the ground on airport property behind the Humane Society building, located at 160 Aviation Drive, Naples, Florida. The airplane came to rest in a nose-low, near vertical attitude, suspended at its tail section by a fence and some sparse trees along the eastern perimeter of the airport.
More: Plane crashes on I-75 in Naples. Two dead.
Cause of death details from the NTSB report:
On June 19, 2002, a deputy chief medical examiner, with the District Twenty Medical Examiner's Office, Collier County (Naples), performed the postmortem examination on the pilot and front seat passenger.
The cause of death was attributed to multiple blunt force injuries for both the pilot and front seat passenger, and no findings which could be considered causal were reported in either case.
At a family member's request, an autopsy was not performed on the second passenger.
NTSB probable cause:
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed above the stall speed while maneuvering to land after the engine ceased operating for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a stall/spin, an uncontrolled descent, and an impact with the ground.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Naples Airport crash in june of 2002 resulted in three fatalities
