Piper PA-28-180 N477SP

Summary

On 30 October 1995 at about 23:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N477SP was involved in an accident near Lebanon, Virginia, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 October 1995 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Lebanon, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

36.8902, -82.0700

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N477SP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Abingdon → Richlands

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

BFO96LA015

Nobody was injured.

failure of the propeller blade due to fatigue cracking originating from corrosion damage. A related factor was the soft terrain encountered during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane was in cruise flight at 5,500 feet when it began to vibrate severely. He stated that the subsequent oscillations in the pitch and yaw axis were so severe that he shut off the engine. The pilot made a forced landing in a soft field. During the landing roll, the nose gear and left main landing gear separated. Postaccident examination revealed that the outboard portion of a propeller blade had separated in flight. Metallurgical examination of the remaining propeller blade revealed a fracture with features indicative of fatigue cracking. The fatigue cracking features extended through about 80% of the cross section of the blade. The origin area of the fatigue cracking showed presence of corrosion damage. The airplane was in storage about 22 years. AD69-09-03 required all 76EM series propellers to be modified and a 'K' stamped after the serial number. The 'K' modification thinned and retuned the entire blade for improved vibratory characteristics. This modification lowered the stresses in the minimum power operating range. The AD also required that the tachometer be placarded to avoid continuous operation between 2150-2350 RPM. The propeller showed no 'K' stamp afer the serial number, and the pilot stated that he knew of no placard that existed in the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.