Piper PA-32-300 N9VM

Summary

On 19 September 1996 at about 22:00 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N9VM was involved in an accident near Georgetown, South Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 September 1996 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Georgetown, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Georgetown (GGE)

Coordinates

33.3604, -79.2891

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N9VM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Savannah

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL96LA128

1 person had minor injuries.

failure of maintenance personnel to comply with an airworthiness directive, requiring periodic magneto inspections; inadequate annual inspection of the airplane by (other) maintenance personnel; and subsequent failure of the impulse coupling in the left magneto, which resulted in a jammed magneto, failure of the idler and crankshaft gears, and subsequent loss of engine power. The lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing was a related factor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While climbing through about 2,500 feet after takeoff, the engine lost power. The pilot was forced to land on unsuitable terrain, which resulted in a collision with a tree. After the accident, the engine's left magneto was found jammed due to a failed impulse coupling. The jammed magneto broke the idler gear and the crankshaft gear with which it meshed, precipitating a total loss of power. The impulse coupling was the subject of an airworthiness directive that required recurring inspections at each 500 hours of engine operation. Records showed that the last inspection of the magneto was in November 1988, 432 hours after the engine had been overhauled. The last annual inspection was in October 1995, with a tachometer time of 2,905 hours since overhaul. At the time of the accident, the engine had a total flight time of 3,109 hours recorded since overhaul.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.