Piper PA-46-500TP N747AW

Summary

On 12 September 2005 at about 13:30 local time, a Piper PA-46-500TP registered N747AW was involved in an accident near Rangeley, Maine, United States. 3 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

12 September 2005 at 13:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Rangeley, Maine, United States

Coordinates

44.7789, -70.7894

Aircraft

Piper PA-46-500TP

Registration

N747AW

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rangeley → Allentown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD05LA138

Nobody was injured.

A malfunction of the yaw damper system due to fluid contamination. Factors in the accident were the air condition exhaust vent design and the design stress limits of the airplane were exceeded.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

With the autopilot engaged, and while climbing through approximately 5,000 feet msl, the pilot moved the heading bug 30 degrees to the right. The airplane then "sort of snapped with significant yaw," into a 60-degree right bank and lost about 1,800 feet of altitude. After recovering, the pilot continued to his destination. Examination of the airplane revealed that it was substantially damaged. Approximately five months prior to the accident, the autopilot system had been installed. Following the installation, the pilot experienced operational problems that included a "yaw problem" which began to worsen, but could not be duplicated by maintenance personnel. A postaccident examination of the autopilot and heading system also revealed no anomalies. Examination of the aft fuselage and tailcone revealed that the yaw damper was contaminated with oil. The source of the oil was an oil streak that ran from under the engine cowling aft along the belly of the airplane, and then up through the air conditioning exhaust vent. Two other airplanes which experienced yaw damper events were also examined, and oil contamination of the yaw damper amplifiers were identified.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.