The Piper PA28 that crashed into a pond at an airport in northern Palm Beach County earlier this month had just taken off from the runway when it disappeared behind the trees and was last recorded just 25 feet above the water before its data ended, according to a preliminary investigation report released Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Stephen Taylor, 59, of Hollywood, and Gojko Damjanic, 58, of Fort Lauderdale, were doing an instructional flight across the state in a Piper PA-28-161 on July 10. An NTSB investigator previously told reporters that one of the men was training for his Instrument Rating, which is learning to fly solely by referencing instruments. It is not known which man was flying the plane; one was a flight instructor, and the other was a private pilot.
The plane left Sarasota Bradenton International Airport shortly before 11:30 a.m. and headed east, performed some maneuvers over the ocean near Satellite Beach in Brevard County and then performed a touch-and-go landing at Melbourne Orlando International Airport shortly before 1 p.m., the NTSB report released Friday said.
At North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport, west of Palm Beach Gardens, Taylor and Damjanic performed another touch-and-go landing before the crash shortly after 2 p.m. The plane took off and reached a height of 75 feet above ground, turned right and then was 25 feet above the pond at the last moment flight data was recorded, according to the report.
Flight instructor, pilot from South Florida killed in north Palm Beach County plane crash
A witness at the airport told the NTSB investigator that he saw the plane land, take off and make a 180-degree descending right turn before it disappeared behind trees. The witness said he then heard a splash, the report said. He and another person drove to the pond to attempt to help.
In 911 calls released to the South Florida Sun Sentinel earlier this week, a man described to first responders how two people at the scene swam out into the muddy water but could not swim deep enough to reach the body of the plane. The men were removed from the water by a basket hanging from a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office helicopter by about 3:30 p.m., Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Tom Reyes told reporters at the scene.
When officials found the plane, it was submerged about 15 feet underwater, about 600 feet to the right of the departure end of one of the runways. The impact ripped off the plane’s right wing, which was found on the north end of the pond, according to the NTSB report.
A mechanic had replaced its engine on July 2 and also installed a backup battery system, the report said.
The continuing investigation will identify any safety issues and underlying causes of the crash. The NTSB will review flight-tracking data, recordings of any air-traffic control communications, the plane’s maintenance records, electronic devices, weather, any surveillance video available and the pilot’s license, ratings, experience and 72-hour background to identify any issues that could have affected his ability to fly safely.
It could take up to two years for the NTSB to issue its final report, which will detail the probable cause of the crash and any contributing factors.
