Piper PA-31-350 N27367

Summary

On 27 April 2001 at about 23:22 local time, a Piper PA-31-350 registered N27367 was involved in an accident near St. George, Utah, 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

27 April 2001 at 23:22

Classification

Accident

Location

St. George, Utah, United States

Nearest airport

St George Muni (SGU)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-31-350

Registration

N27367

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. George → Salt Lake City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN01LA093

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to sump all the fuel drains during preflight and the subsequent loss of power in the right engine during takeoff, the pilot feathering the wrong engine's propeller during the forced landing, the pilot improperly raising the landing gear with usable runway in front of him, and lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing. Contributing factors were the water in the fuel, the terrain induced turbulent cross wind condition, and the mountainous/hilly terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on runway 16, which is located on a narrow mesa (the surrounding terrain is 300 to 350 feet below). He said that immediately after takeoff, he experienced a loss of power on the right engine. The pilot feathered the propeller on the left engine and performed a forced landing. He had raised the landing gear with runway left to land on. The FAA Advisory Circular 61-21A, Flight Training Handbook states that the landing gear should not be raised until a safe landing can no longer be made on the remaining portion of the runway. Postaccident examination of both engines revealed no mechanical anomalies which might have affected their performance. Recovery personnel reported that both propellers were "dramatically" bent in the opposite direction of rotation. Additionally they found that the right wing root fuel sump valve was installed improperly, and was impossible to sump. When they removed the valve, they found that the fuel sample was approximately 25% water. The wind, at the time of the attempted takeoff, was 130 degrees at 21 gusting to 31 knots. The direct crosswind was calculated to be 16 knots, which was within the airplane's demonstrated crosswind limit of 20 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.