Piper PA32R N2880W

Summary

On 23 August 2018 at about 18:54 local time, a Piper PA32R registered N2880W was involved in an accident near Falcon, Colorado, United States. 2 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

23 August 2018 at 18:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Falcon, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Meadow Lake (FLY)

Coordinates

38.9617, -104.5753

Aircraft

Piper PA32R

Registration

N2880W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1979

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Falcon → Estherville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA348

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to depart with an inoperative left magneto, which resulted in degraded climb performance in high-density altitude conditions and a subsequent emergency landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot and the passenger planned to depart on a cross-country personal flight; the density altitude was about 9,500 ft mean sea level. During the pretakeoff engine run-up, the engine began running roughly. The pilot and a mechanic attempted to troubleshoot the engine issue by checking the dual magneto. According to the mechanic, the left magneto was inoperative and the P-leads were wired incorrectly; he then disconnected both magnetos' P-leads. The pilot's second and third engine run-ups appeared to produce full engine power when he adjusted the fuel mixture; however with an inoperative left magneto it is unlikely that full power was achieved. The pilot departed and was unable to maintain altitude and chose to land in a field adjacent to the airport; the airplane stalled just above the ground and then impacted the ground. During a postaccident examination of the airplane, the left magneto was removed and tested; the left magneto did not produce a spark at any terminal, and the contact points did not open. In addition, the spark plugs connected to the left magneto did not exhibit signs of recent operation, which was consistent with an inoperative magneto. The disconnected P-leads would not have affected the right magneto's ability to energize half of the spark plugs. With an inoperative left magneto and a high density altitude, the available engine power would have been reduced, and the airplane's climb performance would have been degraded. The reduction in the available engine power, combined with the high-density altitude at the time of takeoff, resulted in the airplane's inability to maintain a positive rate of climb after lifting off.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.