Piper PA28-R-200 N4596T

Summary

On 3 August 1998 at about 17:15 local time, a Piper PA28-R-200 registered N4596T was involved in an accident near W. Frankfort, Indiana, United States. 2 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

3 August 1998 at 17:15

Classification

Accident

Location

W. Frankfort, Indiana, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA28-R-200

Registration

N4596T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lafayette → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Not Reported

NTSB number

CHI98LA298

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the fuel mixture control linkage, and inadequate inspections by maintenance personnel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While at cruise altitude the airplane began to lose power after the pilot had adjusted the mixture control. The pilot said he attempted numerous throttle, mixture and fuel tank settings to regain power. The airplane began losing altitude and the pilot said he decided upon a forced landing. While making a turn toward the field of choice, the airplane's auto-extend landing gear extended. The airplane began a more rapid sink rate and the pilot had to select another field. The airplane's left main landing gear struck a power line. The airplane landed in a left yaw attitude without its left main landing gear attached to the airframe. The airplane's auto-extend landing gear is designed to extend the landing gear when the airplane's airspeed goes below 105-MPH. This sytem can be over-ridden by using a switch in the airplane's cockpit. The on-scene investigation revealed the fuel mixture control's mechanical linkage had separated from the flexible cable attached to the mixture control's lever. The fuel servo's mechanical mixture control stop for the mixture lever did not have wear marks at the full rich position.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.