Piper PA-28-140 N9578W

Summary

On 13 March 1999 at about 00:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N9578W, operated by Dean R. Hathaway, was involved in an accident near Rexburg, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 March 1999 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Rexburg, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Rexburg-Madison County (RXE)

Coordinates

43.7798, -111.7601

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N9578W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Dean R. Hathaway

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

St. Anthony → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA99LA043

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft, which departed under visual flight rules and received no air traffic services, failed to arrive at its destination airport 9 nautical miles from its point of departure. After approximately two hours of searching, the aircraft wreckage, with the seriously injured pilot inside, was located off the north end of the destination airport runway (17/35). Ground scars observed in the area were consistent with the aircraft impacting short of the runway during a landing attempt to the south. Local police who responded to the crash scene noted fuel in both of the aircraft's fuel tanks, carburetor heat off, and the fuel selector in the OFF position; a local mechanic reported he found about 1/2 teaspoon of fuel in the carburetor float bowl after the accident. The pilot reported the accident occurred about 10 minutes after departure and that he believed the accident was due to 'engine failure due to unknown causes', but he could otherwise remember 'nothing of the flight, the engine problems prompting him to prepare for an emergency landing, or the crash....' A follow-up engine examination disclosed propeller damage consistent with low or no power at impact, but 'found no mechanical reason for the engine to stop running.' Further examination of the aircraft's carburetor disclosed a float valve retractor clip, which was an improper type for the installed float, laying in the bottom of the float bowl chamber. The temperature/dewpoint combination reported at the airport near the reported time of the accident posed a hazard of 'serious [carburetor] icing at glide power', according to FAA data.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.