Piper PA32RT N31678

Summary

On 30 April 2017 at about 17:30 local time, a Piper PA32RT registered N31678 was involved in an accident near Coral Springs, Florida, United States. 2 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

30 April 2017 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Coral Springs, Florida, United States

Coordinates

26.3153, -80.2406

Aircraft

Piper PA32RT

Registration

N31678

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Winter Haven → Fort Lauderdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA169

Nobody was injured.

The in-flight disconnection of the fuel injection servo throttle linkage, which resulted in a loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

While the airplane was in cruise flight, the airline transport pilot noticed a drop in manifold pressure; he advanced the throttle to regain power. After several unsuccessful attempts to regain full power, he made a forced landing and the airplane collided with a ditch, which resulted in damage to the right wing spar. Postaccident examination of the throttle body fuel injection servo revealed the throttle cable linkage was loose at the attachment point of the throttle body fuel injection servo.   Further examination revealed the throttle cable linkage had slipped because the gear teeth did not make full contact locking together. Some of the gear teeth on the throttle linkage and on the throttle body servo were worn with flat spots. It is likely that this condition ultimately resulted in the pilot's inability to control the power setting of the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.