On August 7, 1997, Fine Air Flight 101, a Douglas DC-8-61 cargo plane bound for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, crashed shortly after taking off from Miami International Airport. The accident occurred at 12:36 PM EDT, killing all four people on board—pilot Pat Thompson, co-pilot Steven Petrosky, flight engineer Glen Millington, and a security guard—as well as one motorist on the ground. The plane, carrying 88,000 pounds of textiles, stalled and plummeted tail-first into a busy commercial area near the airport, narrowly missing many workers who were out for lunch.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the crash was an improperly loaded aircraft, resulting in an aft center of gravity and an incorrect stabilizer trim setting, which led to an extreme pitch-up during rotation. The NTSB cited Fine Air's failure to oversee the cargo loading process and Aeromar's failure to load the plane as specified. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was also criticized for failing to adequately monitor Fine Air's operational control responsibilities and ensure that cargo-related deficiencies were corrected.
The impact and subsequent post-crash fire destroyed the $10 million airplane. On the ground, the crash destroyed 12 vehicles and caused an estimated $900,000 in damage and cleanup costs. The plane skidded across Milam Dairy Road, with flaming fuselage sections scattering across the six-lane thoroughfare and into a strip mall. One engine reportedly went through the front window of a computer store, Hexium Computer, where employees narrowly escaped. Emergency responders arrived within minutes, bringing the fuel-fed fire under control in about 15 minutes.
Despite the tragic loss of five lives, officials noted that the death toll could have been significantly higher. The crash occurred during the lunch hour when many workers were out of their offices and the streets and parking lots, usually congested with vehicles, were less crowded. Witnesses reported hearing loud bangs, seeing the plane's wings wobble, and an engine spitting smoke and fire before it stalled with its tail at a nearly vertical angle and crashed.
