Piper PA-32RT-300T N7824T

Summary

On 1 March 2006 at about 17:40 local time, a Piper PA-32RT-300T registered N7824T was involved in an accident near Manhattan, Kansas, 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

1 March 2006 at 17:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Manhattan, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Manhattan Regional (MHK)

Coordinates

39.1411, -96.6708

Aircraft

Piper PA-32RT-300T

Registration

N7824T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Manhattan → Olathe

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN06LA045

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to the intermittent grounding of the left magneto "P" lead, causing the fuel controller to search and the engine to surge then lose power, and the pilot's failure to attain proper runway alignment. Contributing factors were the runway sign and taxiway lights.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said "the engine began to surge in power slightly as the airplane was rotated for liftoff from runway 03. During climbout, he notified the tower of a "possible engine problem," and the engine continued surging. As the pilot executed a slow left turn towards runway 13, the engine started losing power. He managed to land on runway 13 near the intersection with runway 03-21. The airplane was not aligned with the runway centerline, and went off the side of the runway. The left wing struck an elevated runway marker and taxiway lights. Both wing spars were damaged and the left wing was twisted down. An FAA airworthiness inspector examined the airplane and engine and reported finding an exposed left magneto "P" lead touching the connector shell. This could "cause an intermittent grounding of the left magneto," and result in the "fuel control[er] hunting to compensate [and] producing an engine power surge."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.