Piper PA-30 N387RP

Summary

On 9 July 2007 at about 12:15 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N387RP was involved in an accident near Nichols, Florida, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 July 2007 at 12:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Nichols, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Lakeland Linder Regional (LAL)

Coordinates

27.8572, -82.0269

Aircraft

Piper PA-30

Registration

N387RP

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lakeland → Lakeland

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA07FA117

2 people died.

Failure of the flight crew to maintain minimal controllable airspeed following a total loss of power in the right engine.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The twin-engine airplane was recently purchased and had maintenance performed in preparation for its resale. The airplane had flown a total of approximately 10 hours during the 18-month period prior to the last annual inspection. The airplane flew an additional 10 hours during the approximate 1-month period after the inspection, until the accident. The airplane was several miles south of the departing airport, at an estimated altitude of 1,500 feet above the ground, when witnesses heard engine problems just before the airplane went into a nose-low, near-vertical spiraling descent, completing several revolutions before impacting a dirt road. Evidence at the scene was consistent with a loss of power on the right engine. Evidence that the fuel system for the right engine had been exposed to water for an extended period was identified, but the effect of this exposure as it related to the operation of the right engine could not be determined. Besides the possibility of fuel contamination, no other airworthiness issues were identified that could account for the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.