NTSB Reviews Cargo in Fatal Florida King Air Crash

A Beech King Air B100 that departed Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (KFXE) on November 10 for a planned relief supply flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica (MKJS), crashed minutes after takeoff, impacting a pond in a residential area 7 miles north-northwest of the airport, according to the just released NTSB preliminary report, which also noted that cargo loaded throughout the aircraft was unsecured. Both occupants died.

The NTSB report documents that most of the relief supplies were not secured in the King Air’s cabin. According to the investigative summary, “The cargo was not weighed; however, the pilot checked the weight documented on each box as the airplane was loaded, and he finished the loading process once he determined that capacity had been reached.” A generator was among the items restrained; the report notes it “was loaded in the aft baggage compartment and secured to the airframe with webbing.” But the rest of the supplies were placed directly in the seating area. A photograph reviewed by investigators showed that after the aircraft was loaded, “the center aisle of the cabin was clear and that the cargo was loaded unsecured throughout the cabin on passenger seats.”

Filed on an IFR flight plan, the airplane was operated as a Part 91 personal flight. A local church group arrived at the airplane at 9:13 with cargo that included “a generator and multiple boxes of tarpaulins, electric tools, screws, and flashlights.” The pilot had previously told them he could carry about 1,000 pounds of supplies, but the group found “he had already loaded about 200 lbs of equipment into the airplane behind the pilot’s seat.” Cargo was passed through the rear door as the pilot arranged it inside the cabin. The report did not give a total weight for the cargo. After fueling with 282 gallons of Jet-A, the airplane departed Runway 27 at 10:14.

Preliminary ADS-B data indicated that the King Air—registered as N30HG—climbed in a right turn toward the northwest, averaging about 1,000 feet per minute, leveling at 4,000 feet msl. The pilot acknowledged an air traffic control instruction to turn right to a 120-degree heading. The airplane then began the right turn at about 150 knots.

Twenty-five seconds later, the heading was amended to 090 degrees, and the pilot again acknowledged. When the airplane reached that heading, however, it “had accelerated to 200 kts and was starting to descend.” When ATC instructed a further turn back to 120 degrees, the airplane had already descended to about 3,100 feet, and the pilot did not respond.

The controller attempted to contact the pilot again, and the NTSB reported that “heavy breathing and ‘grunting’ sounds could then be heard."  ADS-B data showed the aircraft had descended to about 1,500 feet while accelerating to roughly 270 knots. The last ADS-B target placed the aircraft about 200 feet west and 350 feet above the impact location.

Multiple home security cameras captured the final seconds before impact. Two cameras located about 250 feet south of the accident site recorded the airplane appearing in a steep nose-down attitude before striking the water. Another set, 400 feet east of the site, showed the airplane emerging from clouds, “passing right to left in a nose-down attitude before striking the pond about 3 seconds later.” None of the videos showed smoke or vapor trails, and all captured the sound of engines operating.

Satellite imagery showed a band of cumulus clouds associated with a southeast-moving cold front over the accident area. ADS-B data indicated that the airplane entered the band of clouds after takeoff and remained in them during the turn to the east until beginning its descent.

The airplane “struck the western shore of the pond in a right-wing-low, 45-degree nose-down attitude.” Describing the wreckage as “heavily fragmented on impact,” the NTSB said the empennage was the largest recovered component. Recovered pieces included fragmented wing and fuselage sections and parts of both engines and propeller assemblies, all retained for further examination.

The pilot purchased the aircraft in February 2024. A complete interior and avionics upgrade was completed in June 2024, which included a Garmin G600 TXi, GTN 750 Xi, GI 275 standby attitude indicator, GTX 345 transponder, and an S-TEC 3100 digital flight control system with new servos.

Meteorological conditions at the nearby observation facility included 10 miles of visibility, broken clouds at 2,500 feet agl, temperatures of 28°C/22°C, and winds 11 knots gusting to 15 from 290 degrees. 

The NTSB is continuing its investigation.