Taylorcraft 15A N6652N

Summary

On 7 October 2002 at about 18:40 local time, a Taylorcraft 15A registered N6652N was involved in an accident near Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 October 2002 at 18:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Somerset, Pennsylvania, United States

Nearest airport

Somerset County Airport (2G9)

Coordinates

40.0425, -79.0131

Aircraft

Taylorcraft 15A

Registration

N6652N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Somerset → Midland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD03LA002

Nobody was injured.

The mechanic's failure to discover several mechanical deficiencies during a pre-buy inspection, which either independently or collectively resulted in a subsequent engine failure. A factor was the power lines in the forced landing area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and the commercial pilot/owner had traveled to Maryland to inspect and pick-up the newly purchased airplane, and fly it back to Michigan. The commercial pilot was not current in the airplane and asked the flight instructor to accompany him and provide flight instruction while en route. As part of the pre-sale agreement, the seller hired a certificated airframe and power plant mechanic to perform an airworthiness inspection of the airplane, which included a compression check and fabric test. The mechanic endorsed the airplane's logbook for Day-VFR flight only. The day before the accident, the flight instructor flew the airplane, and afterwards, queried the seller about its slow climb rate. The seller told the flight instructor that the airplane, "was not a great performer", and a normal climb airspeed was between 60-70 miles per hour (mph), and between 95-100 mph during cruise flight. The flight instructor and pilot departed, and flew to their first intended fueling stop. During the flight, the indicated cruise airspeed was lower than expected. After landing, the airplane was filled with fuel, and prepared for the next leg of the flight. After take-off, the airplane would not climb, and only got to about 200 feet agl before it started to descend. The flight instructor took the control of the airplane and turned it to the left and right to avoid obstacles; however, the airplane struck 40-foot power lines and fell to the ground. Examination of the engine revealed low compression on the #3 cylinder, and no compression on the #5 cylinder. The air filter was found clogged with debris, and when the throttle was placed in the full forward position, the carburetor butterfly valve only opened about 1/3 of the way.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.