Saint Petersburg – Pensacola

On November 25, 2017 at 01:15 PM, Saint Petersburg – Pensacola experienced a crash involving Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mirage/Matrix/M-Class), operated by BelleAire, with the event recorded near Saint Petersburg-Clearwater Florida.

The flight was categorized as private 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 performed a preflight inspection of the turboprop airplane and an engine run-up with no anomalies noted. The takeoff roll and lift off from the runway were normal; however, when the pilot initiated a landing gear retraction, the engine torque decreased, but the rpm did not change. The torque then surged back to full power and continued to surge as the pilot attempted to return to the runway. The left wing of the airplane struck the ground, and the airplane came to rest in the grass on the side of the runway. Examination of the engine, engine accessories, and propeller revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation before the accident. The reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined based on the available information.

Aircraft reference details include registration N863RB, MSN 46-97213, year of manufacture 2005.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 27.9099°, -82.6877°.