Piper PA-23-160 N2407M

Summary

On 13 January 2001 at about 13:13 local time, a Piper PA-23-160 registered N2407M was involved in an accident near Milton, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 January 2001 at 13:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Milton, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Peter Prince Field Airport (2R4)

Coordinates

30.6375, -86.9936

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-160

Registration

N2407M

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Milton → Fort Lauderdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA01LA062

1 person was seriously injured.

a loss of right engine power due to chaffed and frayed wiring on the right and left magnetos on the right engine resulting in a forced landing, an inadvertent stall, and subsequent impact with the ground.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses heard the engines sputtering as the airplane started its takeoff roll and accelerated on the runway. The flight reached an altitude of about 200 to 300 feet above ground level, when the right engine lost power. The pilot could not maintain altitude, he feathered the right engine, turned the airplane right about 100 degrees, and attempted a forced landing in a pasture. The landing gear was down and locked, the airplane stalled, and impacted the ground right wing and nose low. The investigation revealed sufficient fuel. Engine test runs revealed that both engines ran without discrepancies except for some intermittent roughness and missing during the right engine run. Examination of the right magneto revealed frayed and broken insulation on the "P" lead. Internal examination of left magneto revealed that the advance spark system wire was chaffed through and making some contact with the normal points circuit at the normal point condenser connection. It was determined by those present at the right engine run, that under running conditions, a possible grounding short of the normal points operation could have occurred at this location. At the time of the accident the pilot reported that he had a total flight time in all aircraft of about 2,960 hours. In addition, he reported 96 total hours in muti-engine aircraft, and 41 hours in this make and model.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.