Date:	Monday 29 July 2024
Time:	c. 12:17 LT
Type:	Piper PA-46-310P Malibu
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	D-EOSE
MSN:	4608010
Engine model:	Continental TSIO-520-BE2G
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	SW off Qaqortoq -   Greenland
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Goose Bay Airport, NL (YYR/CYYR)
Destination airport:	Narsarsuaq Airport (UAK/BGBW)
Investigating agency:	HCLJ
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Piper PA-46-310P Malibu ditched into sea southwest of Qaqortoq, Greenland. The aircraft was returning from Airventure 2024 at Oshkosh.

The day before the accident, the pilot and passenger arrived in Goose Bay (CYYR) and prepared the aircraft for the next day's departure to Narsarsuaq (BGBW)..
On the morning of the accident flight, the pilot performed a preflight inspection of the aircraft without remarks, including an oil level indication "full", and the aircraft departed for BGBW.
The initial cruise level was Flight Level (FL) 210, but after a short while, Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructed the pilot to descend to FL 180.

At 13:04 hrs, in preparation for landing in BGBW, the pilot reported a descent from FL 180 to 11,000 feet (ft) inbound to the IFR reporting point SIMNI (located at the Greenlandic coastline, 45 nm south-west of BGBW). The pilot initiated a 500 feet per minute (fpm) descent and kept the cruise power setting at 65%.
While passing FL 160, the pilot and the passenger briefly noticed an "unusual, electrical, and not very strong smell". The cabin altitude started increasing by a rate of 3,000 fpm, and the pilot realized "something was wrong".
Shortly after, the CABIN ALTITUDE annunciator warning light illuminated, indicating a cabin altitude above 10,000 ft.
As the aircraft was below an altitude of 15,000 ft and descending, the pilot considered the time of useful consciousness and opted not to don the oxygen masks.
At 13:16 hrs, the pilot declared an emergency situation to Nuuk Information: "Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan. We have an air conditioning problem and a low oil pressure indication".

The MP dropped from 26" to 17-18" and the pilot moved the throttle lever forward without any effect. All Cylinder Head Temperatures (CHT) indicated "normal and balanced", and the pilot moved the mixture control full forward to the rich position. The engine almost stopped, and the pilot retarded the mixture control back to the previous position. The aircraft pitch was adjusted to obtain the best glide airspeed of 90 knots (kt).

At 13:17 hrs, while descending through 12,000 ft, the pilot declared a distress situation to Nuuk Information: "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. We have high rpm now and will try to make it to the shore".
The pilot activated the aircraft Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT).

While descending through 7,000 ft altitude, the propeller rpm increased to 3,000 rpm, and 30 seconds later, the oil pressure indicated zero. The pilot pulled back the mixture handle to the idle/cut-off position and stopped the engine to avoid major mechanical damage.
The pilot observed on his knee-mounted tablet that the predicted gliding distance of the aircraft fell short of the coastline. At 13:26 hrs, the pilot informed Nuuk Information of the expected ditching position: 60 30N 046 45W.

The pilot and the passenger prepared to ditch by checking the location of the life raft in the cabin, zipping up their survival suits (which they were already wearing up to their waists), and tightening their seat belts.

At 13:29 hrs, as the aircraft was passing 3,300 ft descending, the RDAF surveillance aircraft spotted the aircraft gliding on a north-easterly course over a low overcast.

At approximately 1,700 ft, the aircraft entered the cloud layer, and exited below at approximately 700 ft.

The RDAF surveillance aircraft lost sight of the aircraft as it entered the cloud layer. In order to safely descend below the cloud layer in VMC, the flight crew of the RDAF surveillance aircraft had to fly to the coastline, descend, and fly back towards the expected ditching position below the cloud layer.

The visibility below the cloud layer was "good", and the sea surface had "only low swells".

At 13:33 hrs, the pilot selected flap setting 2 (20°), slowed down the aircraft to minimum airspeed, and flared the aircraft straight ahead. The aircraft bounced slightly on the sea surface once, before hitting the sea surface a second time. The aircraft decelerated fairly abruptly – "similar to a hard brake in a car" – and stopped in a wings-level position, floating on the surface.

The pilot and the passenger released their seat belts, went into the aft cabin, and opened the top part of the aircraft entrance door, which was above the water level.

They maneuvered the life raft through the entrance door into the water and inflated the raft. The pilot and the passenger threw a few personal items into the raft and stepped directly from the aircraft into the raft.
For the next 45 minutes, the RDAF surveillance aircraft circled overhead the life raft.

At approximately 14:00 hrs, the pilot contacted Nuuk FIC via satellite telephone.
At 14:23 hrs, a rescue crew in a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) dispatched from the RDN inspection ship and picked up the pilot and passenger.
The aircraft sank approximately 2 hours after the ditching.

Cause:
An engine failure during descent resulted in a ditching off the south-west coast of Greenland.
The AIB could not determine the exact cause of the engine failure, but it was likely due to a seeping oil leak.

A combination of the following factors made the accident survivable:
- The pilot declared an emergency followed by an emergency to ATS, and a nearby RDAF surveillance aircraft obtained visual contact with the gliding aircraft.
- The pilot successfully landed the aircraft on calm seas.
- The pilot and the passenger wore survival suits and carried a life raft on board, which they boarded upon safely evacuating the aircraft.
- After 50 minutes, personnel from a nearby RDN inspection ship arrived and rescued the pilot and passenger.

https://www.sermitsiaq.ag/samfund/fly-styrtet-ned-to-personer-reddet/2119522
https://knr.gl/da/nyheder/se-redningsaktionen-fra-flystyrt-i-sydgroenland

Ex F-GOSE, N770MR, N146DS, G-DODS, N9100N

CYYR prior to accident

Accident site

Oshkosh - 20.07.24 - arrival of D-EOSE

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-Jul-2024 19:40	Anon.	Added
29-Jul-2024 19:43	ASN	Updated [Total fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
29-Jul-2024 19:52	ASN	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Location, ]
30-Jul-2024 05:12	safetyfirst	Updated [Registration, Photo, ]
30-Jul-2024 05:12	Malcolm Bezzina	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, ]
30-Jul-2024 05:14	ASN	Updated [Aircraft type, ]
30-Jul-2024 11:08	Anon.	Updated [Photo, ]
30-Jul-2024 11:09	ASN	Updated
30-Jul-2024 15:25	RobertMB	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Source, Damage, Narrative, ]
30-Jul-2024 18:37	ASN	Updated [Source, ]
30-Jul-2024 20:53	RobertMB	Updated [Nature, Narrative, ]
31-Jul-2024 12:19	Anon.	Updated [Narrative, Photo, ]
31-Jul-2024 13:56	Anon.	Updated [Source, ]
11-Apr-2025 07:38	ASN	Updated [Accident report, ]