Piper PA-32R-300 N47465

Summary

On 24 February 2002 at about 20:11 local time, a Piper PA-32R-300 registered N47465 was involved in an accident near Ferron, Utah, United States. 4 people were on board and 4 had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

24 February 2002 at 20:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Ferron, Utah, United States

Coordinates

39.1003, -111.1607

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-300

Registration

N47465

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Duchesne → Cedar City

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN02LA028

4 people had minor injuries.

a loss of engine power due to the ingestion of foreign object(s) into the meshing of the gears, causing a malfunction of the magneto idler gear and failure of maintenance personnel to detect the signs of imminent failure during a mandatory oil filter examination to be performed at the time of an oil change, annual inspection, or engine overhaul. Contributing factors were unsuitable terrain for the forced landing, high crosswind weather conditions, and a parked vehicle in the landing area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, the engine began to "miss, backfire heavily and sputter." The number 1 cylinder temperature "shot off the gauge" with a red light warning light illuminated. The engine lost power and the airplane began to descend. The pilot made a forced landing on a highway. During the landing roll, the airplane struck a truck parked on the shoulder, shearing off its left wing. The airplane then overturned and skidded 300 feet to a halt. Engine disassembly revealed the magneto idler gear that drives the dual magneto was missing 8 teeth. Three of the teeth were displaced from the gear and exhibited signatures consistent with mechanical overload, while the remaining 5 had been ground off. The respective idler gear shaft bore(s) at the back of the crankcase and at the accessory housing were missing approximately 1/3 of their circumferential material. The fracture surface(s) exhibited signatures consistent with overload. The overload forces appeared to have been applied inboard, evidenced by the symmetrical displacement of the bore material at each end of the subject idler gear shaft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.