Spruce Creek Airport

History

Facilities and aircraft

Accidents and incidents

• On July 17, 1999, an experimental Bushby M II aircraft collided with the ground shortly after takeoff from the Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to securely reconnect the distributor coil wire during routine maintenance.
• On March 22, 2003, a Great Lakes Biplane crashed just after takeoff from the Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's improper preflight planning/decision to perform a second flight with known deficiencies in equipment, and his failure to maintain airspeed above the airplane's stall speed while maneuvering to reverse direction to land, after the engine subsequently ceased to operate, which resulted in a stall/mush, an inflight lost of control, an uncontrolled descent, and an impact with a ditch.
• On February 18, 2004, a Robinson R-44 sustained substantial damage when it collided with terrain during aerial taxi for takeoff from the Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions while hover taxiing, which resulted in a loss of control and subsequent in-flight collision with terrain and a rollover of the helicopter.
• On April 14, 2004, a Beech 300 Super King Air crashed while maneuvering to land at the Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's inadequate management of the airplane's fuel system, which resulted in fuel starvation, a loss of engine power, a forced landing, and damage to the airplane during the landing.
• On January 21, 2005, an experimental Velocity XL crashed while landing at the Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing roll resulting in the on-ground collision with a fence and a ditch.
• On February 22, 2005, a Howard Aircraft DGA-15 ground looped during landing at the Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be maintenance personnel's failure to detect corrosion in the landing gear strut, resulting in the gear collapsing during landing and damage to the airplane.
• On April 26, 2013, a Piper PA28 was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain shortly after takeoff at Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be a partial loss of engine power during the initial climb after takeoff for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examinations did not reveal any preimpact failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation.
• On February 26, 2017, a Cirrus SR22 was destroyed when it impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions during initial climb, which resulted in a loss of control due to spatial disorientation.
• On May 22, 2018, a Cessna 140 was destroyed when it impacted terrain just after takeoff from the Spruce Creek Airport. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's inadequate fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation during the initial climb, and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed while turning back to the runway, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall.
• On July 5, 2018, an experimental, amateur-built Swearingen SX-300 was destroyed during a runway excursion while landing at the Spruce Creek Airport. The pilot was fatally injured, while the passenger survived. The probable cause of the accident was found to be the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during landing, which led to the airplane exceeding its critical angle-of-attack, experiencing an aerodynamic stall and hard landing, which resulted in a landing gear collapse, loss of directional control, and runway excursion.