Piper PA-32-300 N475RT

Summary

On 11 January 2022 at about 17:47 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N475RT was involved in an accident near Edisto Island, South Carolina, 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

11 January 2022 at 17:47

Classification

Accident

Location

Edisto Island, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

32.5740, -80.3385

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N475RT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Whiteville → Stuart

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA104

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to the fatigue failure of the crankshaft counterweight retaining ring and the No. 6 connecting rod.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after takeoff the engine started to “sputter,” then stopped producing power; oil then blew out of the engine cowling onto the windshield. The pilot made a forced landing in a field and the airplane contacted a wire fence, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. A postaccident inspection of the engine revealed that the engine crankcase was ruptured in two places near the Nos. 5 and 6 cylinders. Subsequent detailed examinations showed the Nos. 5 and 6 connecting rods were fractured and that a counterweight retaining ring (circlip) was missing its eyelets and had separated from the counterweight assembly. Additional metallurgical examination revealed that the counterweight retaining ring failed due to fatigue. The failure allowed the counterweight roller to eject from the counterweight. Additionally, the No. 6 connecting rod exhibited evidence of a fatigue failure in multiple locations and the Nos. 5 and 6 pistons showed evidence of detonation. It is likely that the fatigue failure of the retaining ring or the fatigue failure of the No. 6 connecting rod occurred and propagated throughout the engine until a catastrophic failure resulted. The failure sequence could not be determined, but it is likely that the piston detonation exacerbated the process.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.