Piper PA-32-300 N82CA

Summary

On 15 July 1995 at about 20:10 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N82CA was involved in an accident near Festus, Missouri, United States. 4 people were on board and 3 died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 July 1995 at 20:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Festus, Missouri, United States

Coordinates

38.2207, -90.4000

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N82CA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → St Louis

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI95FA226

3 people died.

an improper annual inspection, the fouled spark plugs, the arcing magneto distributor, and the pilot's attempt to take off with known deficiencies.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

SEVERAL WITNESSES WHO OBSERVED THE TAXI, RUNUP, AND TAKEOFF, REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE WAS BACKFIRING AND 'SNAPPING' OUT OF THE EXHAUST PIPE DURING THE RUNUP. IN HIS WRITTEN STATEMENT THE PILOT REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE WAS BACKFIRING DURING THE ENGINE START AND TAXI. HE ASKED THE MECHANIC, WHO WAS ALSO A PASSENGER IN THE AIRPLANE, 'IS THAT A PROBLEM?' THE MECHANIC RESPONDED THAT 'IT WAS NOT A PROBLEM BECAUSE THEY HAD JUST COMPLETED THE ENGINE RUN.' THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO HAVE 'NORMAL' ACCELERATION DURING THE TAKEOFF RUN. IMMEDIATELY AFTER ROTATION, HE 'NOTED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS NOT ACCELERATING...AFTER CLEARING A SECOND LINE OF TREES, I PUT THE NOSE DOWN BRIEFLY TRYING TO GAIN SOME AIRSPEED, BUT THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED TO LOSE AIRSPEED AND ALTITUDE...THE AIRCRAFT'S LEFT WING HIT A TREE.' EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED ALL TWELVE SPARK PLUGS WERE SEVERELY WORN AND FOULED WITH LEAD AND CARBON DEPOSITS. THE RIGHT MAGNETO WAS MODERATELY FOULED WITH OIL AND HAD CARBON TRACKS IN THE DISTRIBUTOR. AIRCRAFT LOG BOOKS INDICATED THE ANNUAL INSPECTION WAS COMPLETED ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.