Accident Piper PA-46-310P Malibu N777PG,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 184128
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Sunday 31 January 2016
Time:14:59
Type:Silhouette image of generic PA46 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Piper PA-46-310P Malibu
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N777PG
MSN: 4608063
Year of manufacture:1987
Total airframe hrs:431 hours
Engine model:Teledyne Continental TSIO-550-C14B
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Burns Municipal Airport (KBNO), Burns, OR -   United States of America
Phase: Landing
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Seattle, WA (BFI)
Destination airport:Scottsdale, AZ (SDL)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The private pilot reported that, about 90 minutes after takeoff and about 19,000 ft, the engine of the high-performance pressurized airplane lost total power. Although the loss of power happened at high altitude, for the next 11 minutes, the pilot did not perform any troubleshooting steps, which were limited in scope and would not have taken long to complete, and instead diverted directly to an airport.
After arriving at the diversion airport with altitude remaining, the pilot performed a circling descent maneuver over the runway. During the landing approach, he moved the landing gear selection lever to the “down” position, but the gear did not extend, so the pilot chose to land the airplane on snow adjacent to the runway. Just before touchdown, the main landing gear extended, but the nose landing gear remained retracted. Upon touchdown, the airplane’s nose dug into the snow. The airplane then abruptly stopped, sustaining substantial damage to the forward fuselage and both wings.
Examination of the engine and landing gear did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and the engine performed normally during a subsequent test run. Given the engine ran normally during the test run, it is possible that, if the pilot had attempted to troubleshoot the problem, engine power could have been restored. The reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined. According to the owner, there was a previously undiagnosed landing gear problem that, on two previous occasions, had resulted in the delayed deployment of the landing gear after flying at high altitudes in cold weather. Given the airplane was flying at high altitude in cold weather when the event occurred, a reoccurrence of the landing gear anomaly could not be ruled out.

Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination revealed no evidence of an anomaly that would have precluded normal operation. Contributing to the accident was a preexisting landing gear anomaly that prevented the landing gear from completely extending after flight at high altitude in cold weather during landing.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: WPR16LA060
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N777PG

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
01-Feb-2016 22:28 Geno Added
21-Dec-2016 19:30 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
08-Sep-2017 19:47 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org