Fort Pierce - Okeechobee

On November 5, 2009 at 03:34 PM, Fort Pierce - Okeechobee experienced a crash involving Grumman G-64 Albatross, operated by Albatross Adventures, with the event recorded near Fort Pierce-St Lucie County Florida.

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

3 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 3 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 1, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The pilot stated that during the landing gear retraction he heard a loud bang, followed by three to four smaller bangs. The first officer confirmed that the left engine was the affected engine and immediately began feathering the propeller. Once the propeller had been feathered, the captain confirmed the action by looking outside and noticing the propeller in the feathered position. The captain further reported that the right engine was producing the maximum power available and was indicating 55 inches of manifold pressure. Unable to achieve airspeed of greater than 95 to 96 knots indicated, the captain attempted to return to the airport for an emergency landing; however, he was unable to maintain altitude and attempted to land on an airport perimeter road, impacting the airport fence and a sand berm in the process. A cursory examination of the engine and system components revealed no evidence of a preimpact mechanical malfunction.

Aircraft reference details include registration N120FB, MSN G-331, year of manufacture 1953.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 27.4467°, -80.3256°.