Piper PA-28R-201T N9581C

Summary

On 16 October 2008 at about 18:00 local time, a Piper PA-28R-201T registered N9581C, operated by Raymond S Wieveg, was involved in an accident near Markleeville, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 October 2008 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Markleeville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Alpine County (M45)

Coordinates

38.7628, -119.7931

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-201T

Registration

N9581C

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Raymond S Wieveg

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Minden → Camarillo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR09FA015

1 person died.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to choose a suitable landing area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was in cruise flight on a southerly heading at 13,700 feet mean sea level (msl), and initiated a 180-degree climbing left turn to 14,500 feet. He reported to air traffic control (ATC) that the engine was “missing badly,” and he was returning to his home airport. One minute later, he reported a complete loss of engine power. The pilot decided that he could not make his home base, and elected to head for an alternate airport with ATC guidance. The pilot indicated to ATC that he did not have the airport in sight and was trying to locate it with his global positioning satellite system (GPS). The last recorded radar position was 2.9 miles southeast of the airport and 6,200 feet above field elevation with the airplane on a northerly track. The airplane collided with trees 1.9 miles northwest of the airport while on a southerly heading. While maneuvering, the pilot overflew suitable, unobstructed places to land. Post accident download of an engine data management system displayed stable conditions initially followed by fluctuations in the fuel flow, as well as fluctuations of all six exhaust gas temperature (EGT) and cylinder head temperature (CHT) indications. Over the next two minutes, the readings smoothed out, and then the fuel flow increased while the EGT and CHT dropped to low values indicative of a loss of power. The engine was inspected and prepared for an engine run in a test cell. After replacing several damaged parts including the fuel pump, the engine started easily and ran smoothly throughout its entire power range with no anomalies discovered. The reasons for the fluctuations to the fuel flow, EGT and CHT were not determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.