Piper PA-32-300 N8908N

Summary

On 25 June 2012 at about 17:40 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N8908N, operated by Air Excursions LLC, was involved in an accident near Gustavus, Alaska, United States. 4 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

25 June 2012 at 17:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Gustavus, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

58.3722, -135.6053

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N8908N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Air Excursions LLC

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Juneau → Gustavus

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC12LA058

Nobody was injured.

The fatigue failure of the engine crankshaft for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident metallurgical examination.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The scheduled passenger flight was about 11 miles from its destination airport when the airplane's engine began to lose power and vibrate. After completing the "Engine Power Loss In-Flight" emergency checklist, and with no improvement in engine power or the vibration, the pilot elected to shut down the engine and performed a forced landing on a beach. During the landing, the airplane's nose landing gear folded back under the airplane, and the engine firewall sustained substantial damage. An examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft fractured forward of the #6 bearing journal on the crankshaft through the counterweight web. The fracture surfaces were all consistent with fatigue; however, the cause of the fatigue crack initiation could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.