North Perry – Walker Cay

On April 14, 1983 at 03:08 PM, North Perry – Walker Cay experienced a crash involving Beechcraft G18S, operated by Walker's International Airlines, with the event recorded near North Perry Florida.

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 1 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The pilot stated that start, taxi and takeoff were normal until after he raised the gear handle and the aircraft was climbing thru approximately 150 to 200 feet agl. At that time, he noticed that the left engine rpm was decaying. There was insufficient runway remaining to abort, so he elected to feather the left engine and continue the takeoff. The left prop stopped rotating before it feathered. With additional drag from the left prop, the aircraft would not climb or maintain level flight. The pilot was able to fly the aircraft over buildings and other obstacles (up to 75 feet tall) near the airport boundary. Just beyond these obstacles, the aircraft struck trees and crashed in a wooded area. There was a small post-impact fire near the accessory section of the right engine. An exam and teardown of the left engine revealed that an impeller shaft bearing, Pratt & Whitney part number 288943, had failed and allowed the impeller to rub against the diffuser. No other preimpact failures were found. The pilot, sole on board, was slightly injured.

Aircraft reference details include registration N444PV, MSN BA-598, year of manufacture 1962.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 26.0022°, -80.2395°.