Piper PA-28R-200 N1KU

Summary

On 17 March 2010 at about 18:00 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N1KU, operated by Prater Keith B, was involved in an accident near Eliza Island, Washington, United States. 2 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

17 March 2010 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Eliza Island, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Eliz Island Airport (WA93)

Coordinates

48.6539, -122.5869

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N1KU

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Prater Keith B

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bellingham → Bellingham

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR10LA165

Nobody was injured.

The total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to the failure of maintenance personnel to tighten a fitting on the propeller governor oil line, which resulted in a loss of engine oil and catastrophic engine failure.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane had recently underwent an annual inspection and the accident flight was to be the first flight after the maintenance. After about 10 to 15 minutes into the flight, the engine experienced a total loss of power. During a forced landing to a grass strip, the pilot turned the controls over to his more experienced pilot-rated passenger to perform the landing. As the airplane slowed for landing, the automatic landing gear extension system deployed the landing gear. The airplane subsequently landed short of the runway and the right wing struck a post. The fuselage was twisted and both wings were bent/wrinkled as a result. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the crankcase was cracked and the bottom of the fuselage was covered with oil. The oil was traced to originate from a fitting that attached the propeller governor high-pressure oil line from the nose of the crankcase to the propeller governor. The fitting was found to be loose and likely not adequately tightened by maintenance personnel. Maintenance records indicated that during the annual inspection the propeller governor on the engine's accessory section had been removed in an effort to replace its gasket.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.