ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 34698
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: | Monday 13 February 1995 |
| Time: | 16:36 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Las Vegas Airlines |
| Registration: | N27245 |
| MSN: | 31-7752121 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1977 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 13367 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Tusayan, AZ -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | , AZ (KGCN) |
| Las Vegas, NV (KVGT) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The charter flight was on a return tour trip after landing at the Grand Canyon National Park airport. No fueling or maintenance was performed on the airplane while it sat on the ground for three hours. Shortly after takeoff from runway 21, the pilot transmitted that he had a problem and was declaring an emergency. He then stated '...i'm single engine right now....' The airplane was observed to be 100-200 feet above the terrain at the time. It continued flying for about 6 minutes, turning onto a crosswind, downwind, and then a right base leg for runway 21 before colliding with trees about 2.5 miles northeast of the airport. The airport is located in terrain that slopes upward from south to north and west to east. Winds were gusting to 29 knots. The density altiude was 6,870 feet. Examination of the suspect left engine did not reveal any evidence of failures or malfunctions. The investigation revealed deficiencies in the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of the airline's maintenance program, and in the airline's extension of the time-in-service interval of the engines. The airline's AAIP does not require a maximum rated power check of the engines as required by the engine manufacturer's service instruction. In addition, the TBO of the engines had been extended from 1,800 to 2,400 hours.
Probable Cause: a loss of power on one engine for an undetermined reason(s), and the pilot's improper decision to return to the departure airport for landing which neccessitated maneuvering over increasingly higher terrain. Factors in the accident were: the high gusting wind, the high density altitude, the rising terrain, and the reduced single-engine performance capability of the airplane under these conditions.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB DCA95MA019
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Jun-2015 23:09 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Sep-2017 17:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Sep-2017 17:46 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time] |
| 11-Oct-2017 15:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 11-Oct-2017 15:33 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 15-Mar-2019 20:56 | TB | Updated [Location, Source] |
| 09-Apr-2024 16:36 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation