Piper PA-28-140 N1768T

Summary

On 23 June 2007 at about 18:53 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N1768T, operated by St. Louis Sport Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Columbia, Illinois, 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

23 June 2007 at 18:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Columbia, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Sackman Field (H49)

Coordinates

38.4503, -90.2194

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N1768T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

St. Louis Sport Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbia → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07LA179

Nobody was injured.

The certified flight instructor's (CFI's) inadequate preflight planning/preparation of a test altitude that would afford an on airport landing in the event of engine power loss. Additional causes were the CFI not flying a traffic pattern that would allow for an on airport landing should an engine power loss occur, the partial fuel system obstruction, and the inadequate maintenance by the mechanic. Contributing factors were the improperly serviced fuel selector and the low altitude at the time of engine power loss.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted terrain following a loss of engine power during a maintenance test flight with a company certified flight instructor (CFI) and mechanic. Earlier on the day of the accident, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power during an instructional flight. The student pilot switched fuel tanks, engine power was regained, and the airplane landed without further incident. Subsequent maintenance inspection revealed no fuel flow when fuel was drained through the gascolator with the right fuel tank selected. The mechanic inspected the airplane and called the CFI to perform a maintenance test flight in the airport traffic pattern. No anomalies were noted during the engine runup for the maintenance test flight. The test flight was planned to be conducted in the airport traffic pattern at traffic pattern altitude. The CFI reported that on the turn to base leg, she adjusted the throttle to 1,700 rpm, and the engine started to sputter and ran rough at an engine speed of 500 rpm. The CFI reported running the engine-out checklist by memory, but it did not accomplish an engine restart. The CFI decided the best option was to land in a cornfield to avoid trees and power lines. A postaccident investigation revealed that there were no detents evident in the fuel selector and that it was difficult to turn. The fuel selector did not possess safety wire on its mounting screws. The carburetor drain valve exhibited a brown colored material consistent with rust. The carburetor float had a green line around the float and rested above its minimum level. The green line was consistent with a reaction of the bronze float with water. The accelerator pump check valve was stuck and material consistent with water corrosion was noted within the accelerator pump. The bottom portion of the carburetor bowl contained a material consistent with rust and shiny gouges consistent with recent tooling marks adjacent to the area possessing rust at the bottom of the bowl. The airplane was operated without shoulder harnesses while providing rental/flight instruction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.