Last Update: 5/4/97 Web Author: Juan Jimenez Copyright © 1997 by Juan Jiménez - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Most people seem to have a wide variety of opinions as to what happened to Efraín López (Lopito) and why his aircraft crashed. Lopito was one of the founders of a very successful advertising agency in Puerto Rico, "Lopito, Ileana and Howie." His death was a very traumatic event for the community here, and even more so for his family and friends.I think its a good idea to set the record straight by making available the official report summary of the accident, as prepared by the National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency that investigates aviation accidents and tries to determine causes, contributing factors, etc. The report is clear and speaks for itself.
Data Source: NTSB AVIATION ACCIDENT/INCIDENT DATABASE Report Number: MIA93FA198 Local Date: 09/19/1993 Local Time: 1615 AST State: PR City: AGUADILLA Airport Name: RAFAEL HERNANDEZ Airport Id: BQN Event Type: ACCIDENT Injury Severity: FATAL Report Status: FINAL Mid Air Collision: No
Aircraft Information
Category of Operation: GENERAL AVIATION Aircraft Type: AIRPLANE Aircraft Damage: DESTROYED Phase of Flight: 540 CRUISE Aircraft Make/Model: SOCATA TB-10-10 Owner Name: LOPEZ, EFRAIN
Narrative
A PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING WAS NOT OBTAINED BEFORE DEPARTURE.
THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY RAIN SHOWERS WERE FORECAST. DURING THE FLIGHT AN
INDIVIDUAL IN THE AIRPLANE REQUESTED WEATHER ADVISORIES FROM THE UNICOM
OPERATOR WHO ADVISED THE CREW OF A THUNDERSTORM NEAR THE AIRPORT. THE
FLIGHT PROCEEDED TOWARD THE THUNDERSTORM ACCORDING TO WITNESSES BUT THERE
WERE NO WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRPLANE MINUS THE RIGHT WING WAS
RECOVERED. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THAT THE LEFT WING
SEPARATED NEAR THE WING ROOT AND ABOUT 20 INCHES OUTBOARD OF THE OUTBOARD
FUEL SENSOR DUE TO OVERLOAD. THE RIGHT WING FAILED NEAR THE WING ROOT DUE
TO OVERLOAD. EXAMINATION OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF
PRE-IMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE ASSEMBLY
MINUS THE MAGNETOS, AND FUEL PUMP HOUSING REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF
PRE-IMPACT FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION. NO OCCUPANT HAD AN INSTRUMENT RATING.
NO DETERMINATION COULD BE MADE AS TO WHO WAS FLYING THE AIRPLANE.
Sequence of Events
Occurrence #: 1 240 IN FLIGHT ENCOUNTER WITH WEATHER Phase of Operation: 541 CRUISE - NORMAL
Findings
Subject - Modifier - Personnel Cause/Factor
1a. 20000(S) - 2242(M) Cause
WEATHER CONDITION - THUNDERSTORM, LEVEL II
1b. 24405(S) - 3134(M) - 4000(P) Factor
PREFLIGHT BRIEFING SERVICE - NOT USED - PILOT IN COMMAND
2b. 24402(S) - 3119(M) - 4125(P)
WEATHER OBSERVATION - ISSUED - AIRPORT PERSONNEL
3b. 24023(S) - 3100(M) - 4000(P) Cause
FLIGHT INTO KNOWN ADVERSE WEATHER - ATTEMPTED - PILOT IN COMMAND
Occurrence #: 2 230 IN FLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN/WATER Phase of Operation: 550 DESCENT
Findings
Subject - Modifier - Personnel Cause/Factor
1a. 19200(S) - 2430(M)
TERRAIN CONDITION - WATER
Probable Cause
IN FLIGHT ENCOUNTER WITH A LEVEL II THUNDERSTORM AND FLIGHT INTO KNOWN
ADVERSE WEATHER BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS
FAILURE OF THE PILOT IN COMMAND TO OBTAIN A PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING.
Number of Seats: 4 Aircraft Use: PERSONAL Type of Operation: 14 CFR 91 Registration Number: N104F Aircraft Fire: NONE
Injuries
Fatal Serious Minor None
Crew 1 0 0 0
Pass 2 0 0 0
Other 0 0 0 0
Invlvd 3 0 0 0
Landing Gear: TRICYCLE-FIXED Certificated Maximum Gross Weight: 2535 Engine Make: LYCOMING Engine Model: O-360-A1AD Number of Engines: 1 Engine Type: RECIPROCATING-CARBURETOR
Environment/Operations Information
Basic Weather Flight Conditions: VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS Wind Direction (deg): 360 Wind Speed (knots): 10 Visibility (sm): 12 Visibility RVR (ft): 0 Visibility RVV (sm): 0 Cloud Height Above Ground Level (ft): 2000 Visibility Restrictions: NONE Precipitation Type: RAIN SHOWERS (RW) Light Condition: DAYLIGHT Departure Airport Id: MJMZ Departure City: MAYAGUEZ Departure State: PR Destination Airport Id: SIG Destination City: SAN JUAN Destination State: PR Flight Plan Filed: NONE ATC Clearance: NONE Event Location: OFF AIRPORT/AIRSTRIP
Pilot-in-Command
Certificates: PRIVATE
Ratings:
Plane: SINGLE ENGINE LAND, MULTIENGINE LAND
Non-Plane: NONE
Instrument: NONE
Had Current BFR: Yes
Months Since Last BFR: 19
Medical Certificate: CLASS 3
Medical Certificate Validity: VALID MEDICAL-WITH WAIVERS/LIMITATIONS
Flight Time (Hours) Total : 143 Last 24 Hrs : 0 Make/Model : 0 Last 30 Days: 0 Instrument : 6 Last 90 Days: 0 Multi-Engine: 51 Rotorcraft : 0
