Piper PA-23-250 N6257H

Summary

On 20 April 2004 at about 23:35 local time, a Piper PA-23-250 registered N6257H, operated by Brian Carnes, was involved in an accident near Sweetwater, Texas, 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

20 April 2004 at 23:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Sweetwater, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Avenger Field Airport (SWW)

Coordinates

32.4669, -100.4597

Aircraft

Piper PA-23-250

Registration

N6257H

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Brian Carnes

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Midland → Sallisaw

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04LA113

Nobody was injured.

The propeller overspeed for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The propeller on the number two engine on a light twin-engine airplane experienced an overspeed while in cruise flight. The 1,430-hour pilot reported that while in cruise flight at 5,500 feet msl, he noticed the propellers were "out of sync." The pilot stated that he made minor adjustments with the propeller levers to synchronize the propellers; however, the propellers continued to be "out of sync." The right propeller began to overspeed by approximately 1,000 RPM's, and adjustments with the right prop lever had no effect. The pilot retarded the throttle, but could not maintain proper engine RPM, so he elected to land at the nearest airport, located approximately 12 miles away. The pilot noticed that the number two engine was starting to overheat, so he retarded the throttle again and increased airspeed to aid in cooling. The airplane started to shake, and he looked outside and observed the propeller was "wobbling." Subsequently, the pilot executed a forced landing into a muddy wheat field. The airplane had an annual inspection on December 12, 2003, and was determined to be in an un-airworthy condition. The airplane was given a special flight permit for maintenance, issued on April 20, 2004, which was to expire on April 30, 2004. The propeller governors were tested on a governor test stand and functioned normally; however, they were out of specification. The maximum RPM on the left governor was 2,394 and the maximum RPM on the right governor was 2,310. The specified RPM is 2,435. The specified feather RPM is 1,700. The left governor achieved 1,671 RPMs and the right governor achieved 1,634 RPMs. Inspection after disassembly was uneventful. Both governors were found to be "old and worn, exhibited similar wear patterns, but were functional." The reason for the reported propeller overspeed could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.