Piper PA 12 N3227M

Summary

On 2 November 2018 at about 00:30 local time, a Piper PA 12 registered N3227M was involved in an accident near Willow, Alaska, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 November 2018 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Willow, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Willow (UUO)

Coordinates

61.8594, -150.1261

Aircraft

Piper PA 12

Registration

N3227M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1947

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Willow → Willow

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC19LA005

1 person was seriously injured.

The loss of engine power shortly after takeoff for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information, which resulted in an emergency landing and collision with trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, during the initial climb on the personal flight, the engine backfired and then lost total power. He was unable to restore power, and during the subsequent off-airport forced landing, the airplane collided with a stand of trees, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. A mechanic/friend of the pilot stated that this was the first flight after engine maintenance, during which he and the pilot had been troubleshooting for excessive magneto drops and a cold cylinder. He added that they had just reinstalled the fine wire spark plugs after cleaning them. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that all spark plugs exhibited normal operational signatures with no defects or anomalies noted. Both magnetos produced spark at all terminals as designed. The impulse coupler inside the left magneto was fractured, but that did not preclude the magneto from sparking. Additionally, the wiring harness from the ignition switch to the magnetos was frayed and separated. However, it could not be determined if the separation occurred as a result of the accident. Thus, the reason(s) for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.