Piper PA-36-285 N57616

Summary

On 5 August 2000 at about 13:00 local time, a Piper PA-36-285 registered N57616 was involved in an accident near Osborne, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 August 2000 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Osborne, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

39.4309, -98.6896

Aircraft

Piper PA-36-285

Registration

N57616

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI00LA243

1 person died.

The unsuitable terrain for landing encountered by the pilot during the forced landing. Factors were the failure of the number four piston and cylinder, the soft terrain, and the main landing gear overload and subsequent collapse.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The agricultural airplane was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a gear collapse during a forced landing while returning from spraying operations. The airplane was found resting in a soft farm field of wheat stubble. The pilot was fatally injured. The seat belt cable and shoulder harness cable were found separated. The separated areas exhibited signatures consistent with tensile overload. The pilot was not wearing a helmet and the manual control for the shoulder harness inertia reel was found in the unlocked position. The engine was examined and the number four cylinder was found to be compromised. A portion of the piston pin was protruding through a hole in the cylinder wall. Examination of the number four piston and intake valve revealed that the valve failed due to overstress. Portions of the piston skirt had fractured and separated from the piston. The fracture surfaces on the piston contained severe mechanical damage that obscured the fracture surface features. One side of the piston skirt exhibited damage consistent with the piston rotating about the piston pin and the connecting rod impacting the skirt. No other anomalies were found that could be associated with a preexisting condition.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.