Piper PA-30 N7017Y

Summary

On 20 June 2013 at about 13:30 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N7017Y, operated by Horizon Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Dayton, Ohio, 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

20 June 2013 at 13:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Dayton, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

James M Cox Dayton Intn'l (KDAY)

Coordinates

39.9042, -84.2183

Aircraft

Piper PA-30

Registration

N7017Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Horizon Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dayton → Urbana

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA361

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s loss of control of the airplane for reasons that could not be undetermined because a postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that, during the preflight inspection of the airplane, he found a small amount of water in the right inboard fuel tank. The pilot inspected the other fuel tanks and did not find any water; he then rechecked the right inboard fuel tank and did not find any additional water. During startup, the right engine stopped, but the pilot restarted it and ran it with a higher rpm during warm-up. The pilot stated that the taxi and run-up were performed without hesitation or problems but that the takeoff run seemed "sluggish" and that the airplane then drifted right. The pilot was unable to correct the drift by applying rudder, so he reduced the throttles and chose to perform a force landing on a closed taxiway. The airplane landed short of the taxiway and impacted a bump in the terrain, which caused the landing gear to collapse. Although water in the right engine's fuel tank could have resulted in power loss and the subsequent drift to the right, examination of the airplane did not find any water in the fuel nor any abnormalities that would have prevented the engines from producing power. A reason for the pilot's loss of directional control could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.