Piper PA-28R-200 N4350T

Summary

On 18 June 2012 at about 15:45 local time, a Piper PA-28R-200 registered N4350T, operated by Marshall County Flying Club Inc, was involved in an incident near Lacon, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 June 2012 at 15:45

Classification

Incident

Location

Lacon, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Marshall County Airport (C75)

Coordinates

41.0189, -89.3858

Aircraft

Piper PA-28R-200

Registration

N4350T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Marshall County Flying Club Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lacon → Lacon

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12IA377

Nobody was injured.

The propeller blade’s failure due to a fatigue crack that originated from a surface gouge that resulted from foreign object damage to the propeller blade that occurred at an unknown time.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was flying the airplane at 4,500 feet mean sea level with 23 inches of manifold pressure and with the engine at 2,350 to 2,400 rpm when the airplane began to abnormally vibrate. He scanned the instruments and observed no other abnormal indications. He executed an emergency landing to an airport without incident. The examination of the airplane revealed that about 6 inches of a propeller blade tip had separated from the propeller. The metallurgical examination of the fracture surface revealed that a fatigue crack had originated about 0.06 inch from the blade's leading edge. A surface gouge was found at the origin of the fatigue crack, which indicated that the direction of the damage was from the leading to trailing edge consistent with foreign object impact to a rotating propeller. A test of the airplane's tachometer revealed that it was indicating 50 rpm higher than the actual propeller rpm and that it had a restricted propeller operating range from 2,100 to 2,350 rpm. When the pilot set the propeller to 2,350 or 2,400 rpm using the airplane's tachometer, the actual rpm would have been operating within the restricted rpm range.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.