Piper PA-28-180 N7810N

Summary

On 7 March 2006 at about 21:00 local time, a Piper PA-28-180 registered N7810N, operated by Mark U. Heinl, was involved in an accident near Holly, Michigan, 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 March 2006 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Holly, Michigan, United States

Coordinates

42.6653, -83.4186

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-180

Registration

N7810N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Mark U. Heinl

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Celina → New Hudson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI06CA098

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to undetermined reasons. Factors associated with the accident were the guard rail and the ditch which the airplane contacted during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane contacted a guard rail and a ditch during a forced landing on an interstate highway following a total loss of engine power. The pilot reported he initially flew past his intended destination airport and was turning back to the airport when loss of power occurred. He stated they were at 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl) when the engine started to sputter intermittently. He reported that he immediately checked the engine gauges which looked normal, and he switched fuel tanks. The pilot reported that upon reaching an altitude of about 2,000 msl, the engine stopped producing power. The pilot reported he applied carburetor heat and since he had the mixture leaned, he moved the mixture control to full rich. The pilot stated that he attempted to restart the engine to no avail. The pilot reported his choices of a place to land included a small field, a gravel pit, or the highway. He chose the highway. He reported that he intentionally kept his speed between 75 and 80 miles per hour during the landing to match the speed of the traffic on the highway. The pilot reported that during the landing the airplane bounced and contacted a guard rail. The airplane then spun around and contacted a ditch prior to coming to rest. Following the accident the airplane was secured on a flat bed trailer and an engine test run was conducted using an alternate fuel supply. The engine started and ran smooth up to 1,900 rpm. No mechanical failure/malfunction was found which would have resulted in the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.