Piper PA-28-140 N3965K

Summary

On 20 February 1998 at about 16:15 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N3965K was involved in an accident near Graniteville, South Carolina, United States. One person was 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

20 February 1998 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Graniteville, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

33.4910, -81.7595

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N3965K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Aiken

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA98LA082

Nobody was injured.

failure of the number three exhaust valve, which resulted in loss of engine power and a forced landing. Related factors were: the obstructions (earthen embankment and fence) in the emergency (forced) landing area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot took off on a flight to return the aircraft to his home field after having had maintenance performed on the fuel system. During the initial climb after takeoff, a loss of engine power occurred. Emergency procedure for loss of power was accomplished with negative results, and a turn to the nearest field was begun. During the forced landing, the aircraft overflew the pilot's intended point of touchdown and collided with an earthen embankment and a barbed-wire fence. Subsequent teardown examination of the engine by FAA personnel revealed a broken exhaust valve in the number three cylinder. According to an FAA report, about 30 percent of the valve face was missing. The previous annual inspection was completed on 6/6/97; flight time since overhaul of the engine was reported as 1920.1 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.