Piper PA-32-300 N47420

Summary

On 21 December 2002 at about 00:57 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N47420 was involved in an accident near Macon, Georgia, United States. 5 people were on board and 4 died, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 December 2002 at 00:57

Classification

Accident

Location

Macon, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

32.8219, -83.5619

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N47420

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbus → Thomasville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ATL03FA025

4 people died.

The loss of engine power due to oil starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an instrument cross-country flight from Columbus Ohio, the pilot declared an emergency. Approach control gave the pilot a heading to the nearest airport and asked for the nature of the emergency. The pilot advised approach control that he had total lost of engine power, and would not be able to make the airport. According to the passenger the engine stopped and the pilot attempted to restart the engine. The pilot told the passengers to brace themselves because they were going to hit some trees. The airplane collided with trees and came to rest in a heavily wooded area. Examination of the internal engine case revealed scoring damage, and the connecting rods and pistons showed signs of heat distress. Approximately half a quart of engine oil was recovered from the 12 quart engine oil system. Metal debris was also retrieved from the oil sump. The engine compartment and nose section of the airplane sustained fire damage. According to a line mechanic at the departure airport, he noticed an oil leak coming from under the engine cowling onto the nose wheel pant during the servicing of a gear strut. The oil leak was pointed out to the pilot, and the pilot told the mechanic that he would look into it later.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.