Piper PA32 N3941X

Summary

On 31 October 2016 at about 19:02 local time, a Piper PA32 registered N3941X was involved in an accident near Bartow, Florida, United States. One person was 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

31 October 2016 at 19:02

Classification

Accident

Location

Bartow, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Bartow Muni (BOW)

Coordinates

27.9647, -81.7869

Aircraft

Piper PA32

Registration

N3941X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Orlando → Bartow

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA034

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power during approach for reasons that could not be determined because engine examinations did not reveal any evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While approaching the airport, the private pilot reduced engine power in preparation for landing. At that time, the airplane began to vibrate and shake. The engine then lost total power, while the propeller continued to windmill. He attempted to restart the engine using the emergency checklist procedures but was unsuccessful. He determined that he would not be able to reach the runway and maneuvered toward a nearby pasture for an emergency landing. During the landing rollout, the airplane struck a fence, damaging the left wheel hydraulic brake line, which caused a loss of brake pressure. When the pilot applied the brakes, he lost directional control, and the nose landing gear collapsed. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the firewall was damaged and the fuselage skin aft of the firewall was wrinkled. An unmeasured amount of fuel was present in all four fuel tanks, and fuel was present at the fuel injector nozzles; thus, adequate fuel was onboard for the flight. Oil was present in the crankcase, and cylinder compression was attained on all cylinders when the propeller was rotated by hand. While rotating the engine, a grinding/crunching noise occurred once but was not repeatable. A subsequent partial teardown examination of the engine did not reveal any evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Thus, the reason for the total loss of engine power could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.