Piper PA-23-150 N2268P

Summary

On 10 September 2001 at about 02:11 local time, a Piper PA-23-150 registered N2268P was involved in an accident near Chico, California, 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

10 September 2001 at 02:11

Classification

Accident

Location

Chico, California, United States

Nearest airport

Chico Municipal (CIC)

Coordinates

39.7842, -121.8489

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-150

Registration

N2268P

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chico → Chico

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01FA302

1 person died.

The loss of right engine power for undetermined reasons, and the pilot's failure to maintain control of the aircraft due to his improper single engine emergency procedures.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses observed the airplane climb a maximum of 200 feet above the runway during its initial climb, and then it descended in a right wing low attitude until impacting the level ground short of the airport's perimeter fence. A fire erupted and consumed the airplane. Before the pilot succumbed to his injuries he reported to the responding medical personnel that "my engine failed and I was trying to turn around." The subsequent airframe examination revealed that the wings were fire damaged in areas corresponding to both the inboard and the outboard fuel tanks, and the fuel selectors were on the main tank positions. The landing gear was extended, and the rudder trim tab was set to a position consistent with a right engine power failure. No evidence of any internal engine mechanical malfunction was observed. The left propeller blades were torsionally twisted and gouged; the right blades sustained only minor damage. The pilot was an airframe and powerplant mechanic, had performed the maintenance on his airplane, and was its only pilot. He last flew the airplane about 3.5 months prior to the accident, and this was the first flight following maintenance. No logbook records were found that identified the maintenance performed. The cause of the right engine's nonmechanical loss of power was not determined. Given the prevailing meteorological conditions and the airplane's weight, performance data indicates that the airplane should have had a positive climb rate upon feathering the right engine's propeller blades and retraction of the landing gear.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.