Piper PA 36-285 N9913P

Summary

On 19 September 2014 at about 23:00 local time, a Piper PA 36-285 registered N9913P, operated by Gaerte AG Service LLC, was involved in an accident near Woodburn, Indiana, 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 September 2014 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Woodburn, Indiana, United States

Nearest airport

Steinman (53II)

Coordinates

41.1250, -84.8533

Aircraft

Piper PA 36-285

Registration

N9913P

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Gaerte AG Service LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Woodburn → Woodburn

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN14LA519

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power during takeoff for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the engine lost power during the takeoff roll. He was unable to stop the airplane on the remaining runway, and it subsequently impacted a berm and then came to rest in a corn field. The pilot reported that, on the day after the accident, he observed about 30 gallons of fuel in the right wing fuel tank and no fuel in the left wing fuel tank. The pilot reported the accident 3 days later, and a postaccident examination was conducted the following day. About 2 gallons of fuel was found in the right wing fuel tank, and the left wing fuel tank was empty. Fuel was placed in each wing fuel tank, and positive fuel flow was observed at the engine fuel inlet. Given these findings, it is possible that the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion; however, the delay in the reporting of the accident precluded an accurate determination of the amount of fuel on board the airplane at the time of the accident. During an engine test run, the engine ran normally on just the left magneto and with both magnetos selected; however, the engine did not run normally on just the right magneto. Each magneto produced a spark across all leads when bench tested. Subsequent examination of the right magneto revealed that the distributor bushing was worn, which allowed excessive play between the distributor gear and the block. It is possible that the worn distributor bushing interfered with the proper timing of the right magneto during the accident takeoff; however, this would have caused a disruption in engine operation, which is not consistent with a sudden or complete loss of power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.