Piper PA 28-161 N8440N

Summary

On 22 August 2014 at about 20:54 local time, a Piper PA 28-161 registered N8440N, operated by Robert E Braswell, was involved in an accident near New Orleans, Louisiana, 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

22 August 2014 at 20:54

Classification

Accident

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

Nearest airport

Lakefront (NEW)

Coordinates

30.0372, -90.0356

Aircraft

Piper PA 28-161

Registration

N8440N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1981

Engines

1

Operator

Robert E Braswell

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Beaumont/Port Arthur → New Orleans

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14LA449

Nobody was injured.

The in-flight fatigue failure of the crankshaft gear retaining bolt, which resulted in a total loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident were the pilot/owner’s failure to maintain the airplane in accordance with an airworthiness directive following a propeller strike and the improper installation of the lockplate.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot/owner reported that, while on final approach to the destination airport, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, and the airplane was unable to glide to the runway, so the pilot subsequently ditched the airplane into a lake. The pilot evacuated the airplane and swam to shore; the airplane sank into the lake but was subsequently recovered. A postaccident examination of the engine's crankshaft gear, retaining bolt, and lockplate revealed that the retaining bolt had fractured; the fracture surfaces and the fine ratchet marks in the initiation area were consistent with fatigue crack propagation. Defined fretting wear scars were noted partially around the circumference of the bolt through-hole. The lockplate exhibited areas of fretting wear and polishing wear scars. The lockplate's retention tab was in the "open" position and did not exhibit typical mechanical deformation associated with bending to the "closed" position, which indicates that the lockplate was not installed properly. The engine manufacturer had issued a service bulletin (SB) that outlined additional maintenance actions that should be taken if an engine experienced a propeller strike. Subsequently, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an airworthiness directive (AD) that made compliance with the SB mandatory. During the course of the investigation, the pilot reported that the engine had experienced a propeller strike days before the accident flight. He stated that he was unaware of the AD, so it was not accomplished after the propeller strike. It is likely that the crankshaft gear retaining bolt tension was loosened when the propeller strike occurred and that the improperly installed lockplate allowed the bolt to lose its clamping force. The loose bolt became fatigued and subsequently failed during the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.