Piper PA-23 N3154P

Summary

On 21 July 1998 at about 00:00 local time, a Piper PA-23 registered N3154P was involved in an accident near Bridgeport, Texas, United States. 3 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 July 1998 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Bridgeport, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Bridgeport Municipal (1F9)

Coordinates

33.1999, -97.7504

Aircraft

Piper PA-23

Registration

N3154P

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA321

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's delay in recognizing and responding to the loss of right engine power which resulted in the airplane landing short of the runway. A factor was the loss of right engine power for undetermined reasons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an instructional flight, the twin engine airplane undershot the runway following a loss of right engine power. With the private pilot receiving instruction at the controls, the airplane took off and remained in the traffic pattern. As the turn to base leg was made, the airplane 'suddenly' began loosing altitude, and the flight instructor took control of the airplane. The instructor added full power, feathered the right engine and retracted the flaps. However, the airplane impacted trees short of the runway. The operator stated that monitoring of the engine gauges might have prevented the accident by alerting the pilots to the loss of engine power 'at an earlier stage.' The reason for the loss of right engine power has not been determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.