Piper PA-28-140 N43466

Summary

On 11 June 2001 at about 19:20 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N43466 was involved in an accident near Dahlonega, Georgia, 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

11 June 2001 at 19:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Dahlonega, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Lumpkin County-Wimpys (9A0)

Coordinates

34.5794, -84.0206

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N43466

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dahlonega → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA01LA159

1 person was seriously injured.

The failure of the No. 3 exhaust valve due to fatigue cracking for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power and an in-flight collision with a building during an attempted forced landing to unsuitable terrain..

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that while taking off on runway 15, about half way down the runway, he felt a loss of engine power and noticed he was not high enough to clear the high terrain in front of him. He decided to aim for a pasture to the right of the departure end of the runway. This is the last thing he recalls. The next thing he remembers is seeing the airplane wrecked in the airport building. After the accident the engine was placed on a test stand under the supervision of NTSB personnel. The engine was started and ran for a few seconds while producing white smoke, and then quit. The engine was again started and produced about 1,500 rpm. The engine operated roughly. The engine was shutdown and the No. 3 cylinder was found to not have an elevated temperature. The No. 3 cylinder was removed and the exhaust valve head was missing. The piston had impact damage from the exhaust valve head and a piece of the exhaust valve head was found in the cylinder. No part number was visible on the broken valve remnants. Metallurgical examination of the remnants of the No. 3 exhaust valve was performed by the NTSB Materials Laboratory, Washington, D.C. The fracture surface on the stem portion of the valve was on a flat transverse plane, with large scale ratchet marks suggestive of fatigue cracking. In addition, three fatigue regions with clear crack arrest positions were noted on the fracture adjacent to the exterior surface of the stem. The exterior surface of the stem in the vicinity of the fracture surface revealed a heavy oxide or deposit scale. Logbook records show the engine was last overhauled at aircraft and engine total time 5,880 hours. At the time of the accident the aircraft and engine total time were 6,646 hours. Logbook records prior to December 12, 1995, had been lost. The engine overhaul had occurred prior to that date. No records concerning the engine overhaul were present in the remaining aircraft records.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.