Sunday, October 21, 2018

Piper PA-32R-300 Cherokee Lance, registered to Peavy LLC, N4213F: Accident occurred October 30, 2017 in Dawsonville, Dawson County, Georgia

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Atlanta, Georgia

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf


Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms 

 
http://registry.faa.gov/N4213F



Location: Dawsonville, GA
Accident Number: ANC18LA006
Date & Time: 10/30/2017, 0826 EDT
Registration: N4213F
Aircraft: PIPER PA 32R-300
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Loss of engine power (total)
Injuries: 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On October 30, 2017, about 0826 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-300 airplane, N4213F, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing on an asphalt-covered automobile race track about 4 miles west-northwest of Dawsonville, Georgia. The private pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to Peavy LLC and was being operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instrument flight rules (IFR) flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Gainesville, Georgia (GVL) about 0807, destined for Gary, Indiana (GYY).

According to the pilot, while climbing through 8,000 ft mean sea level (msl) to an assigned altitude of 10,000 ft msl, he heard a sound consistent with a propeller overspeed, which lasted about 5 seconds before returning to normal. Coinciding with the sound, was a low oil quantity light and a reading of zero on the oil pressure gauge. After declaring an emergency, the pilot began a descent for an emergency landing. As the airplane descended through about 5,000 ft msl, the pilot heard a loud "pop or bang" and saw a puff of smoke emit from under the engine cowling, and smoke entered the cockpit through the cabin heat system. Around 3,500 ft msl, the pilot tried to add some power before sensing a "bad vibration" that felt as if a propeller blade had separated. About the same time as the vibration, the engine lost all power.

Seeing an asphalt-covered automobile racetrack below, the pilot selected one of the straight sections of track for landing. As the airplane neared the surface, a white truck moved in the way, and the pilot veered the airplane left to avoid a collision. Following the maneuver, the airplane's right wing struck a dirt berm, resulting in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.

An on-site examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector revealed that the bottom of the fuselage was coated in oil and the engine crank case was fractured at the upper aft attach bolts of the number six cylinder. All three propeller blades were present, with only one blade exhibiting signs of damage. The damaged blade was bent aft with no significant signs of leading edge damage or scaring. The two remaining blades were free of impact damage.

The airplane was equipped with a Lycoming IO-540 series engine, which was examined on November 16, 2017. The engine is a six-cylinder, air cooled, direct drive, horizontally opposed, normally aspirated, fuel injected, internal combustion engine. Extensive fracturing of the engine crankcase above the #6 cylinder was present. The engine was disassembled for inspection and the crankcase was opened. The #3 and #4 main bearings on both the left and right side of the crankcase were wiped with copper flashing and bearing material was extruding. The connecting rod and crankshaft journals for the #5 cylinder exhibited signs consistent with thermal damage with the bearing extruded. The connecting rod and crankshaft journals for the #6 cylinder were fragmented, however both connecting rod bolts remained in place and attached. The piston and wrist pin remained attached with about 3 inches of the fractured connecting rod.

The airplane was equipped with an Air Wolf remote mounted oil filter (P/N 0FB 10). The kit consists of two hoses, an adapter that mounts to the engine's accessory case, and an oil filter bracket that mounts to the airplane's firewall. When the kit is installed, the oil filter is remotely mounted to the airplane's firewall. A B-nut on one of the remote mounted oil filter lines was observed to be loose with about 2 ½ threads showing. The B-nut was tightened by hand and rotated about 1 and ¾ turns with about ½ thread showing.

According to the pilot, he was not an airframe or powerplant mechanic, but he said that he replaced the line about a week before the accident, and this was the first flight since that installation.

The closest official weather observation station is GVL, which is located about 20 miles southeast of the accident site. At 0753, a METAR was reporting, in part, wind 270° at 8 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; clouds and ceiling clear; temperature 36° F; dew point 28° F; altimeter 29.96 inches of Mercury. 


Pilot Information

Certificate: Private
Age: 50, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: Unknown
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 2 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 03/01/2017
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 11/15/2016
Flight Time:  1300 hours (Total, all aircraft), 1000 hours (Total, this make and model), 1200 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 25 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 6 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft)

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: PIPER
Registration: N4213F
Model/Series: PA 32R-300
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1976
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Normal
Serial Number: 32R-7680432
Landing Gear Type: Retractable - Tricycle
Seats: 6
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 07/31/2017, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 3600 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection: 15 Hours
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 5527.91 Hours at time of accident
Engine Manufacturer: LYCOMING
ELT: C126 installed, activated, did not aid in locating accident
Engine Model/Series: IO540-K165D
Registered Owner: PEAVY LLC
Rated Power: 300 hp
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KGVL, 1275 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 20 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 1153 UTC
Direction from Accident Site: 119°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility:  10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 8 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: / Unknown
Wind Direction: 270°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: / Unknown
Altimeter Setting: 29.96 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 2°C / -2°C
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: GAINESVILLE, GA (GVL)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: VFR/IFR
Destination: GARY, IN (GYY)
Type of Clearance: IFR
Departure Time: 0800 EDT
Type of Airspace: Class E

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Serious
Latitude, Longitude:  34.434444, -84.176667

Location: Dawsonville, GA
Accident Number: ANC18LA006
Date & Time: 10/30/2017, 0826 EDT
Registration: N4213F
Aircraft: PIPER PA 32R-300
Injuries: 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under:  Part 91: General Aviation - Personal

On October 30, 2017, about 0826 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32R airplane, N4213F, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing on an asphalt race track about 4 miles west-northwest of Dawsonville, Georgia. The private pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to Peavy LLC and was being operated as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instrument flight rules (IFR) flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and an IFR flight had been filed. The flight departed Gainesville, Georgia (GVL) about 0807 destined for Gary, Indiana (GYY).

According to the pilot, while climbing through 8,000 ft mean sea level (msl) to an assigned altitude of 10,000 ft msl, he heard a sound consistent with a prop governor overspeed which lasted about 5 seconds before returning to normal. Coinciding with the sound, was a low oil quantity light and a reading of zero on the oil pressure gauge. After declaring an emergency, the pilot began a descent for an emergency landing. When the aircraft was passing through about 5,000 ft msl, the pilot heard a loud "pop or bang" and saw a puff of smoke emit from under the engine cowling and smoke entered the cockpit through the cabin heat system. Around 3,500 ft msl, the pilot tried to add some power before sensing a "bad vibration" that felt as if a propeller blade had separated. About the same time as the vibration, the engine lost power.

Seeing an asphalt racetrack below, the pilot selected one of the straight sections of track for landing. As the airplane neared the surface, a white truck moved in the way and the pilot veered the airplane left to avoid a collision. Following the maneuver, the airplane's right wing struck a dirt berm, resulting in substantial damage.

An on-site examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector revealed that the bottom of the fuselage was coated in oil and the engine crank case was fractured at the upper aft attach bolts of the number six cylinder. All three propeller blades were present, with only one blade exhibiting signs of damage. The damaged blade was bent aft with no significant signs of leading edge damage or scaring. The two remaining blades were free of impact damage.

The closest official weather observation station is GVL, which is located about 20 miles southeast of the accident site. At 0753, a METAR was reporting, in part, wind 270° at 8 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; clouds and ceiling clear; temperature 36° F; dew point 28° F; altimeter 29.96 inches of Mercury.

The airplane was equipped with a Lycoming TIO-540 series engine. A detailed examination is pending.

3 comments:

  1. Though I don't discourage owners who are not A&P mechanics from working on their planes (I know I performed quite a few oil changes and other maintenance functions on my bird.) I highly suggest that they get some training from mechanics before they undertake such projects. Huge bills may be avoided by doing work yourself, but this guy may have a much bigger bill--along with some FAA involvement--to pay if he improperly installed the oil filter.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agree with the comment above. This was the dept of stupid.

    The airplane was equipped with an Air Wolf remote mounted oil filter (P/N 0FB 10). The kit consists of two hoses, an adapter that mounts to the engine's accessory case, and an oil filter bracket that mounts to the airplane's firewall. When the kit is installed, the oil filter is remotely mounted to the airplane's firewall. A B-nut on one of the remote mounted oil filter lines was observed to be loose with about 2 ½ threads showing. The B-nut was tightened by hand and rotated about 1 and ¾ turns with about ½ thread showing.

    Good grief, this is as basic as it gets. Whomever did this was clueless.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The pilot stated he replaced the hose (line) so I guess he is the one that was clueless... But think of the money he saved by not using a mechanic.

    ReplyDelete