Piper PA-32R-300 N4489F

Summary

On 27 May 2013 at about 22:05 local time, a Piper PA-32R-300 registered N4489F, operated by Flebo Air LLC, was involved in an accident near Macon, Georgia, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

27 May 2013 at 22:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Macon, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Middle Georgia Regional (MCN)

Coordinates

32.6639, -83.6031

Aircraft

Piper PA-32R-300

Registration

N4489F

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Flebo Air LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Apalachicola → Greenville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA13FA256

2 people died.

A total loss of engine power due to oil starvation for reasons that could not be determined due to extensive postcrash fire and heat damage to the engine components.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A review of air traffic control information revealed that, during the cross-county flight, the pilot requested clearance for a precautionary landing at a nearby airport due to a low oil pressure indication. Shortly after the flight was cleared for landing, the pilot reported that the engine had lost total power. The pilot advised the air traffic controller that he could not make it to the airport and requested to land at a military base that was closer to his current position. The pilot was cleared to land at the military base; however, he never established radio contact with the military base tower. The airplane crashed about 0.8 mile northeast of the base in a heavily wooded swamp, and a postcrash fire ensued. An examination of the engine revealed that the crankcase was fractured in the areas of the Nos. 4, 5, and 6 cylinders, that the camshaft was fractured, and that the Nos. 4, 5, and 6 connecting rods were separated from the crankshaft. The Nos. 1 and 2 connecting rod bearings and the Nos. 2 and 3 main bearings exhibited wiping, scoring, and extrusion signatures consistent with oil starvation. Although review of maintenance records revealed that Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness directives for the replacement of the oil cooler hose and the oil filter converter plate gasket were not accomplished, extensive postcrash fire and heat damage to the engine components precluded a determination of the cause of the oil starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.