Piper PA-32R-301T N3120T

Summary

On 15 August 2007 at about 11:00 local time, a Piper PA-32R-301T registered N3120T, operated by Dutchman Leasing LLC, was involved in an incident near Alton, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 August 2007 at 11:00

Classification

Incident

Location

Alton, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

St. Louis Regional Airport (ALN)

Coordinates

38.8906, -90.1842

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-301T

Registration

N3120T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Dutchman Leasing LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Aurora → St. Louis

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC07IA199

Nobody was injured.

The component manufacturer's inadequate fabrication of the transient voltage suppressor.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After the pilot initiated a descent, smoke began to emanate from under the left side of the instrument panel of the Piper PA-32R-301T. The primary flight display (PFD) then "blanked out" and the 10-amp PFD circuit breaker opened. The pilot declared an emergency, diverted to the closest airport, and landed uneventfully. The airplane had accrued 526 total hours of operation. Examination revealed a Transient Voltage Suppressor (TVS) had failed. The following month, the National Transportation Safety Board was advised of another TVS failure on an airplane that had accrued 132.5 total hours of operation. Research conducted by Safety Board investigators indicated that failures of the same part number TVS were occurring on multiple makes and models of airplanes, some of which had only approximately 20 total hours of operation. Review of manufacturer-supplied information revealed that the maximum ratings and electrical characteristics were compatible with the affected electrical systems; however, testing of failed TVS revealed that the TVS displayed instances of "shorting," "reverse leakage," "breakdown voltage," and "excessive leakage," damaged dies with some separated from the base disc, holes in the center of the die and/or in the silicon near the center of the die, and molten solder internally and/or physical damage to the individual sub assembly. As a result, the manufacturer implemented high-temperature reverse bias testing of all TVSs prior to delivery to reduce the probability of failure and advised their customers to remove from service any TVS with the same date codes as the failed units. Additionally, the airplane manufacturers and the Federal Aviation Administration took corrective actions to remove and replace faulty TVSs.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.