Accident Piper PA-24-250 N7331P,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 45924
 
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Date:Monday 28 May 2001
Time:17:57
Type:Silhouette image of generic PA24 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Piper PA-24-250
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N7331P
MSN: 24-2510
Year of manufacture:1961
Total airframe hrs:886 hours
Engine model:Lycoming O-540-A1D5
Fatalities:Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Osage Beach, MO -   United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Kaiser, MO (AIZ)
Destination airport:Schaumburg, IL (06C)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
During a forced landing the airplane stalled and impacted trees and terrain. Witnesses to the accident reported that the engine was running rough and intermittently prior to the accident. A global positioning system (GPS) receiver was recovered at the accident site and its track data was downloaded. The recovered GPS data showed the airplane's ground speed was between 73.7 - 79.8 mph during the last 10 seconds of data. The stall speed for the accident airplane with flaps retracted is 70 mph. Post-accident fuel samples taken from the fuel strainer and both electric fuel pumps were contaminated with water and particulate. Both electric fuel pumps contained rust, water, and particulate. The carburetor float bowl and accelerator pump-well were contaminated with fine particulate resembling silicon sand. The same fine particulate was observed in the carburetor idle tube passage and nozzle well. Fuel samples taken from the right main fuel cell and fuel selector were clear of debris and water. A fuel sample obtained from the departure airport was clear of debris and water. The accident airplane had been operated approximately 164 hours in the last 35 years, 47 hours in the last 15 years, 35 hours in the last 5 years, and 35 hours in the last year. According to Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), the pilot-in-command is required to complete an aircraft preflight inspection in order to determine if the aircraft is in an airworthy condition. According to FAA AC 20-43C, "Fuel having a 'cloudy' appearance or definitely 'offcolor' should be suspected of contamination or deterioration and should not be used." According to Airplane Flying Handbook, "Significant and/or consistent water or sediment contamination are grounds for further investigation by qualified maintenance personnel. Each fuel tank sump should be drained during preflight and after refueling."
Probable Cause: Aircraft control not being maintained by the pilot during the forced landing and inadequate preflight inspection performed by the pilot. Contributing factors to the accident were the fuel system contamination that resulted in the loss of engine power, the encountered stall, and trees.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CHI01FA146
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20010608X01134&key=1

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
28-Oct-2008 00:45 ASN archive Added
21-Dec-2016 19:24 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
10-Dec-2017 11:22 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative]

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