Plane crash near North Perry due to pilot’s miscalculation, safety report says
After days of island-hopping across the Caribbean, experienced pilot Carlos Balza Cardenas began the final stretch of his journey back to the United States with his wife and two teenage daughters.
At the family’s last stop in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, the 57-year-old from Weston refueled the twin-engine 1976 Cessna and believed he had filled its tanks to the top.
But according to an National Transportation Safety Board investigation released last month, the conversion from pounds to gallons became a point of confusion.
Weight estimates blurred and the aircraft’s load, already swollen with days of travel and family belongings, crept more than 500 pounds past its maximum.
Still, the plane lifted off and for most of the flight north everything appeared normal.
It wasn’t until the aircraft began its initial descent toward Pembroke Pines’ North Perry Airport that the margin of error caught up with the flight. The Cessna’s critical rear engine gave out and within minutes, the quiet of the July 13 night in Pines Village was broken with the sound of branches snapping and metal crashing onto a front yard.
The NTSB says the crash was the result of “inadequate preflight and fuel planning,” and pilot miscalculations, according to its Nov. 14 report.
The plane’s total weight during flight was approximately 5,256 pounds, roughly 630 pounds over the maximum takeoff weight of 4,630.
“This excess weight likely contributed to increased fuel consumption during climb out to cruising altitude,” the report reads.
Long-standing debate
The crash, which left Cardenas and the other three family members with minor injuries, reignited long-standing public concern about safety at North Perry Airport.
Since 2019, at least 33 crashes have been linked to the airport, according to the Sun Sentinel. One of the deadliest crashes happened on March 15, 2021, when a plane struck a car carrying a mother and her 4-year-old son in Pembroke Pines.
The boy, Taylor Bishop, died, along with the two passengers on the plane. In April 2022, the city renamed Southwest 72nd Avenue, where the crash took place, in Bishop’s honor.
On Aug. 27, nearly 200 people attended a town hall hosted by county officials weeks after the July 13 crash, many of them longtime homeowners who have watched North Perry’s traffic surge beyond what the airport had anticipated.
North Perry has been operating since the 1940s, and residents at the town hall argued the surrounding communities have changed and the airport has not adapted with it, according to WLRN.
A 30-day report that Broward County officials released after the August meeting noted that the airport, “has a strong safety record, including 25 consecutive years of zero discrepancies found in their Florida Department of Transportation annual inspection.”
The report also reads that “Flight schools, pilots, and mechanics are licensed and regulated by the FAA, which establishes training and competency standards,” and that county staff monitor daily conditions and coordinate with federal authorities to maintain safe operations.
Continued calls for safety
Pembroke Pines Mayor Angelo Castillo told the Pembroke Pines News on Tuesday, Dec. 2, that North Perry Airport has grown from its initial “sleepy” beginnings into Florida’s largest general aviation airport, with 317,069 flights recorded in 2024, according to federal statistics reported by TC Palm.
“There are an average of 850 takeoffs and landings that occur at North Perry every single day,” he said. “That averages to about one takeoff or landing every minute of every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Nobody asked for the airport to grow to that enormous level around that dense population.”
He said that the airport, owned and operated by Broward County, has expanded well beyond its planning parameters. He also said there are 11 flight training schools at the airport despite the huge numbers of residents living around it.
“You’ve got people practicing how to take off and land who aren’t yet licensed pilots,” Castillo said. “The miracle is we haven’t had more crashes.”
Castillo said there have been six fatalities in five years and criticized the county for failing to complete a 2023 request to test air quality for lead, which can be emitted from piston-engine aircrafts using leaded fuel. The EPA reported in 2023 that older general aviation planes can contribute to elevated airborne lead levels.
“They promised to do it, and then didn’t do it,” Castillo said. “The history of North Perry Airport ... has been one of not wanting to take the necessary steps to be a good neighbor with the surrounding communities.”
According to the 30-day report by Broward officials, the county is currently in the process of drafting the scope of a lead emission analysis that will move through the county’s procurement process.
County spokesperson Arlene Satchell told the Pembroke Pines News on Dec. 2 that Broward County advertised a request for proposal (RFP) for a lead emissions screening and that the RFP will close on Dec. 22.
Castillo praised Broward County Commissioner Alexandra Davis for pushing the county to act. He said officials have issued a request for proposals for a consultant to conduct a safety review and an air-quality study.
“Ultimately, there are way too many planes there,” he said. “It is that moneymaker for the county and I believe that they’re putting money ahead of safety.”
He says that North Perry is a hobbyist airport, a place where those who have a vocation for aviation go, but he urges safety above all.
“They do no commercial business, they don’t transport cargo, they do not transport passengers,” Castillo said. “I don’t quite understand why anyone would be against additional safety standards at their airport, realizing that the number one life that you could save is your own.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 4:41 PM.
