Piper PA 30 N7768Y

Summary

On 13 July 2015 at about 20:20 local time, a Piper PA 30 registered N7768Y was involved in an accident near Clifton, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 July 2015 at 20:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Clifton, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Clifton Muni/Isenhower Field (7F7)

Coordinates

31.8172, -97.5694

Aircraft

Piper PA 30

Registration

N7768Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Clifton → San Antonio

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15LA357

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain control during a precautionary landing following a total loss of power to one engine. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined based on 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 accident flight was the first flight following an annual inspection. During initial climb after takeoff, he noticed that the fuel flow to the right engine was higher than normal, and that the exhaust gas temperature was lower than normal. He noted that moving the propeller control had no effect on propeller rpm, and he elected to return to the airport. On the downwind leg of the traffic pattern for landing, the right engine experienced a total loss of power, and the pilot was unable to restart the engine or feather the propeller. The pilot also stated that the propeller was not windmilling following the loss of power. During the subsequent final landing approach, when the airplane was about 20 feet above the ground, the right wing "suddenly and violently rolled to the right," and the airplane impacted the ground. Postaccident examination of the airplane's engines, ignition systems, fuel system, and fuel controls did not reveal any anomalies, and a reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined. Although a first responder to the accident observed the right engine fuel selector in the auxiliary tank position, no information was available regarding fuel quantities present in the fuel tanks at the time of the accident. Examination of the right propeller revealed that the propeller dome had no air charge, which is likely the reason for the lack of response to the pilot's propeller control inputs; however, this should not have prevented the propeller from entering the feather position after the engine lost power. It is likely that the propeller did not feather because the start locks engaged following the loss of power and the pilot's subsequent attempts to restart the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.