Piper PA-28-181 N9160Q

Summary

On 17 June 2013 at about 02:20 local time, a Piper PA-28-181 registered N9160Q was involved in an accident near Waihee-Waiehu, Hawaii, United States. 4 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 June 2013 at 02:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Waihee-Waiehu, Hawaii, United States

Coordinates

20.8986, -156.4303

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-181

Registration

N9160Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Honolulu → Kahului

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR13LA275

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies due to saltwater immersion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During a cross-country flight, the pilot noticed that the engine had begun running roughly; he then performed a series of troubleshooting procedures, which corrected the problem. About 5 to 10 minutes later, the engine began running roughly again, and the pilot performed the troubleshooting procedures a second time. Shortly thereafter, the pilot noticed that the engine rpm was fluctuating between 1,500 and 2,450 and that the airplane would not maintain altitude. The pilot initiated a forced landing to a field, and, during the landing roll, the airplane struck bushes and trees before it came to rest in a nose-low position. During the recovery of the airplane using a helicopter long-line operation, the wreckage began to spin. The helicopter pilot jettisoned the external load cable attached to the airplane. Subsequently, the wreckage descended and impacted water just offshore from the accident site. The engine and one wing were recovered from the water about 2 days later. Postaccident examination of the recovered engine revealed signatures consistent with salt water submersion and severe corrosion. The saltwater immersion destroyed much of the evidence, and the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.