Piper PA-23 N3170P

Summary

On 28 June 2012 at about 13:20 local time, a Piper PA-23 registered N3170P was involved in an accident near Baltic, Ohio, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

28 June 2012 at 13:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Baltic, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

40.4396, -81.7006

Aircraft

Piper PA-23

Registration

N3170P

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Akron → SouthCharleston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12LA401

2 people were seriously injured.

Loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of particulate contaminant on the carburetor screens.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Shortly after takeoff, the left engine lost power so the pilot diverted to an alternate airport for landing. After the left engine was secured, the airplane was not maintaining altitude so the pilot selected an off-airport site short of the alternate airport to land. While approaching the off-airport site, the right engine lost power, and the airplane was substantially damaged during the forced landing. An examination of the fuel system revealed an extensive amount of corrosion consistent with the continued presence of water over an extended period. Both engine carburetor screens were occluded with particle contaminants, which likely resulted in the loss of power in both engines. The pilot reported that before the flight, he conducted a normal preflight inspection, had 54 gallons of fuel added to both main fuel tanks, and sumped one fuel sump cup full of fuel out of each main tank. Neither the previous owner nor the accident pilot was aware of an airworthiness directive (AD) requiring a special fuel sumping procedure before every flight. The AD also specifies that the procedure should be incorporated into the owner handbook and pilot’s operating manual. The required documentation advising pilots of this preflight procedure was not in the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.