The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says a Piper PA-32R-301T (N2467Y) was on fire when it crashed into the Everglades on Sept. 20. All four people on board were killed, including the pilot, his wife, their son and a friend of the pilot.

The group took off from Gainesville for South Florida after attending the Florida-Tennessee football game. A preliminary report by the NTSB says the pilot radioed air traffic controllers that he had smoke in the cockpit.

The PA-32R crashed in Area 3A-North of the Frances Taylor Conservation Area, near Fort Lauderdale, FL.. The flight had departed from the Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV), Gainesville, FL.

According to personnel at Miami (MIA) approach control, the pilot radioed a MAYDAY and reported smoke in the cockpit and an engine fire. MIA approach control offered Palm Beach County Glades Airport (PHK), Pahokee, FL, as an alternative, which was three miles closer than the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE), Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The pilot declined and stated that he would continue on to FXE, adding that the smoke was dissipating. The pilot continued his flight, and MIA switched the pilot to a discrete frequency for handling. The pilot then advised MIA approach control that he was not going to make it, and was going to land on US Highway 27. Shortly thereafter, the pilot reported that the airplane was on fire. This was the last transmission from the airplane. Review of radar data showed that the airplane was at 3,000 feet above ground level (agl), traveling at 110 knots before being lost off of radar.

A Florida Wildlife Conservation officer observed the airplane in trouble, traveling west and trailing smoke. Flames were coming from the engine area, engulfing the cockpit section of the airplane. When the airplane was approximately 300 feet agl, it began to roll left approximately 80 degrees, and pitch down. It then crashed into a marsh.

Another witness observed the airplane flying low, trailing black smoke. The engine stopped and the airplane appeared to pitch up before rolling inverted, impacting the Everglades in a near vertical attitude before exploding.

The pilot, age 46, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land. The pilot's last medical examination was on December 3, 2008, for a third- class medical certificate with no limitations. The pilot reported 2,000 flight hours on his last medical application. The pilot's logbook was destroyed, and a determination of his total flight hours has not yet been verified.

The six-seat, low-wing, retractable gear airplane, was manufactured in 1985. It was powered by a Lycoming TIO-540-S1AD, 300 hp engine, and equipped with a Hartzell 3-bladed propeller. Review of the engine logbooks revealed that the total time since major overhaul was 2,030 hours. The overhaul date was April 11, 1994. The recommended overhaul time by Lycoming is 12 years, or 1,800 hours. The engine was three years beyond, and 230 hours over, the recommended time between overhaul (TBO).

The airplane came to rest inverted in approximately six feet of water 20 miles northwest of FXE. The debris path was orientated on a magnetic bearing of 258 degrees.