2024 Piper PA-44-180 Treasure Island Plane Crash Cause and Photos Revealed
Posted by Shoddy_Act7059@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 22 comments
This crash involved a flight instructor, who died in the crash, and a student pilot, who was seriously injured. The NTSB found the cause to be the instructor's mishandling of one engine's failure and maintenance issues.
Link to the site I got the pictures from: https://www.tcpalm.com/picture-gallery/news/local/st-lucie-county/2026/04/13/national-transportation-safety-board-photos-from-deadly-plane-crash/89588344007/
Sad-Umpire6000@reddit
The flight school shut down a few days ago. This was their second fatal crash in nine months. The other crash had one CFI killed and one survived. It was a new CFI on his line check with a more senior CFI. The wings came off their Cherokee while maneuvering, and they went into a steel barn. The survivor said that they’d done some routine commercial maneuvers, and then were doing a power-off stall recovery when the wings suddenly failed. The investigation showed no signs of fatigue or pre-existing damage.
It was more likely a case of FAFO. They needed to pull 6+ Gs to fold both wings like that.
That schools’s CFIs were hazardous. Doing things like S-turns over a canal that put them repeatedly crossing an airpark’s final at 600’, doing simulated engine-out to a private runway and flying a righthand pattern, doing a downwind final simulated engine out as another plane is making a low pass into the wind. Oh, and their Part 141 manual prohibited operations near private airports.
kiralema@reddit
I am not a pilot, but just curious, apart from landing gear retracted, flaps down, and the right propeller not feathered during the right engine failure, was it a bad decision to turn right, towards the inoperative engine, in an attempt to go around? My impression was that during an engine failure of a multi-engine aircraft, a pilot is supposed to turn away from the dead engine, not towards it.
ltcterry@reddit
"Don't turn into the dead engine" is guidance from long ago. Turning into the dead engine will increase the airplane's Vmc, but as long as you remain above that speed you are not likely to lose control.
For me the big issue is that the Seminole barely climbs on one engine and in turn it really doesn't climb at all. People rush to turn too soon.
1Crownedngroovd@reddit
Nothing wrong with doing a standard rate turn into a dead engine, provided it's properly secured (shut down and prop feathered)
ContributionEasy6513@reddit
Crashes like this make me angry, especially when an instructor is on board and in command.
Partial engine failure is the most dangerous type of engine failure. Far worse than an instantaneous complete engine failure.
My instructors explicitly forbid me from troubleshooting and getting distracted diagnosing such a case at low altitude due to this very outcome (degrading airspeed, stall, spin). During a go-around they should have been cleaning up and flying straight out, watching airspeed. Why turn? Why try to get more power if you are climbing?
This preventable crash was due to poor piloting and unnecessarily rushed decision making. Mechanical failure was only a contributor.
I've said it before, and I'll say it before. These brand new young, low time instructors are lethal and lack experience. Seen way to many flight schools push students into this role only to build time.
Gunn00be55@reddit
Cant park there
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
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Pretty_Aside_7674@reddit
bruh I thought the Treasure Island meant the disney one
SackOfCats@reddit
Thems that dies will be the lucky ones!! Arrr!
old_skul@reddit
It's Treasure Coast, not Treasure Island. Treasure Island is in San Francisco.
makgross@reddit
And the airport there has been closed for many years. Cool terminal building, though.
BigWhiteDog@reddit
Yeah I was going "what airport at TI?"
pl0nk@reddit
Treasure Island in the SF Bay is where Pan-Am operated their China Clipper flying boat service for a few years before WWII.
Misophonic4000@reddit
Thank you, I was shocked I had missed a crash on Treasure Island
PropOnTop@reddit
Wow. That "source" contains the absolute minimum information possible.
tldr: An analysis of the right engine showed the serrated mating surfaces of a carburetor’s throttle arm and throttle control lever “were not securely mated.” Further, the teeth on one side “were rounded and worn down, consistent with the damage having occurred over a period of time.” This could have prevented the right engine from reaching full power.
Shoddy_Act7059@reddit (OP)
Yeah, admittedly, I did try to find another source that had this info, but they were stuck behind paywalls, so...
PropOnTop@reddit
Not only is there a much more informative article on that very same website: https://eu.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/st-lucie-county/2026/04/13/instructor-readiness-maintenance-cited-in-deadly-florida-plane-crash/89588388007/, but the NTSB report is freely available: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194006/pdf
Shoddy_Act7059@reddit (OP)
Oh...oops. My bad, lol. Guess I didn't search hard enough.
superimu@reddit
Here's ASN page for better information
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/378123
nsgiad@reddit
Here's a link to the actual NTSB final report (pdf warning) https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194006/pdf
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