ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 39783
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| Date: | Monday 17 February 1986 |
| Time: | 00:00 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-310 Navajo |
| Owner/operator: | Unknown (illegal flight) |
| Registration: | N7EA |
| MSN: | 31-117 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1967 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Moore Haven, Glades County, Florida -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Illegal Flight |
| Departure airport: | Fort Lauderdale Executive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FXE/KFXE) |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
ON FEBRUARY 17, 1986 THE WRECKAGE OF PIPER PA-31 N7EA, ALONG WITH THE SKELETAL REMAINS OF TWO PERSONS WERE FOUND AT MOORE HAVEN, FLORIDA. [AT APPROXIMATE CO ORDINATES 26°50′N 81°6′W]. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED INTO TREES CAUSING THE SEPARATION OF THE OUTBOARD SIX FEET OF LEFT WING AND THEN CONTINUED CRASHING THROUGH MORE TREES BEFORE COLLIDING WITH THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT CAUGHT FIRE DURING THE IMPACT SEQUENCE AND WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY POST CRASH FIRE.
FUEL FITTINGS AND PUMPS USED IN AIRCRAFT FUEL SYSTEMS WERE FOUND IN THE CABIN AREA OF THE WRECKAGE. ALSO THE CLOSURE MECHANISMS FOR SEVERAL MILITARY TYPE DUFFLE BAGS WERE FOUND AND ONLY TWO SEATS WERE INSTALLED IN THE COCKPIT.
EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINES REVEALED BOTH TO BE OPERABLE AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE DATE AND TIME OF THE ACCIDENT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED. THE ORIGIN AND DESTINATION OF THE FLIGHT COULD ALSO NOT BE DETERMINED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS LAST SEEN AT THE FORT LAUDERDALE EXECUTIVE AIRPORT ON FEBRUARY 3, 1986.
THE MYSTERY OF THE AIRCRAFT'S WHEREABOUTS BETWEEN FEBRUARY 3 AND 17, 1986, PLUS THE LARGE NUMBERS OF DUFFLE BAGS ON BOARD, LEADS TO SUSPICION THAT THE AIRCRAFT MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN ILLEGAL ACTIVITY, POSSIBLY CONNECTED WITH DRUG SMUGGLING. THE FOLLOWING REPORT IN THE "SUN SENTINEL" NEWSPAPER FOR OCTOBER 9 1986 SEEMS TO CONFIRM THIS:
"Five Face Murder Charges Smuggling Case Spurs Indictments
October 9, 1986|By JAMES H. TOLPIN, Staff Writer
When Alan A. Beck of Fort Lauderdale crashed and burned in his cocaine-laden airplane, it might have been just another illegal load that fell short of its goal.
But state prosecutors this week upped the ante in the fight against drug smuggling with murder indictments against five people who allegedly teamed with Beck to smuggle cocaine and marijuana into South Florida.
'The most significant thing is the charge of felony murder against the co- conspirators', said James E. Buchanan, chief of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement`s West Palm Beach office.
He said the felony murder charges were the first ever returned by the statewide grand jury and may have been the first in the state in connection with drug smuggling.
The indictment also charges the five, two of whom are fugitives, with conspiracy and trafficking for their alleged roles in smuggling an estimated 10 tons, or $300 million worth, of cocaine into Glades County since November 1984.
Five other people, two from Palm Beach County and three from Broward County, are presumed to have died in the smuggling operation, most of them in plane crashes, Buchanan said. He refused to identify the missing people.
The five alleged smugglers did not sabotage Beck`s plane or kill him after he landed, Buchanan said, but were charged with murder based on a law that holds criminals responsible for deaths occurring during commission of a felony.
Jim Lewis, the prosecutor in charge of the statewide grand jury in Orlando that handed up the indictments, said, "While the felony murder statutes have been traditionally used in armed-robbery homicides, the Florida legislature has seen fit to include homicides that occur during drug trafficking"
Sources:
1. NTSB Identification: MIA86FA080 at https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001213X32903&key=1
2. FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=7EA
3. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1986/archives/crash-of-a-piper-pa-31-navajo-chieftain-in-florida-2-killed-3/]
4. http://planecrashmap.com/plane/fl/N7EA/
5. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-10-09/news/8603010707_1_felony-murder-statewide-grand-jury-drug-charges
6. https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N7EA
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 01-May-2015 17:14 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency] |
| 07-Oct-2017 22:37 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative] |
| 29-Oct-2019 16:23 | Uli Elch | Updated [Operator] |
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