Piper PA-28-140 N8496R

Summary

On 20 August 2003 at about 01:15 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N8496R was involved in an accident near Winchester, Tennessee, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 August 2003 at 01:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Winchester, Tennessee, United States

Coordinates

35.5569, -87.1833

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N8496R

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Collegedale → Columbia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL03LA130

2 people had minor injuries.

A maintenance personnel failure to follow propeller inspection procedures that resulted in a fatigue failure of a propeller blade and the subsequent forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot while in cruise flight at 4500 feet mean sea level, the airplane began shaking violently. The pilot shut down the engine and saw part of one propeller blade missing. The pilot executed a forced landing into a field 12 miles east of Winchester, Tennessee. Examination of the downed airplane revealed that the propeller was fractured 17.5 inches from the hub center. There were fatigue features that originated from a nick on the flat face of the propeller. Paint from the flat face extended into the nick, indicating that the nick was present when the propeller was last painted. The shape of the nick boundary indicates that it was not blended.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.