Piper PA-32-301 N82723

Summary

On 19 April 2013 at about 17:00 local time, a Piper PA-32-301 registered N82723 was involved in an accident near Paris, Texas, United States. One person was 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

19 April 2013 at 17:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Paris, Texas, United States

Coordinates

33.6364, -95.4506

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-301

Registration

N82723

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Parsons → Conroe

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA233

Nobody was injured.

The improper installation of the connecting rod bolts, which resulted in an engine failure.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While in cruise flight, the engine lost power and oil immediately covered the windscreen. The pilot initiated a forced landing to a field. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted terrain and sustained substantial damage to the right wing. Disassembly of the engine showed multiple failures of the connecting rod assemblies. Metallurgical examination of the connecting rod assemblies revealed that the connecting rods likely failed due to insufficient clamping force at the split lines at the crankshaft end of the connecting rods. The pieces showed evidence of the nuts backing off from at least 3 of the connecting rod bolts. Fatigue of the connecting rod bolt and connecting rod straps was secondary to the loss of clamping force at the split lines. It is likely that the connecting rod bolts were not installed properly during the last overhaul.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.