Piper PA28R N9341N

Summary

On 27 August 2020 at about 15:54 local time, a Piper PA28R registered N9341N was involved in an accident near Fletcher, North Carolina, 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

27 August 2020 at 15:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Fletcher, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Six Oaks (NC67)

Coordinates

35.4700, -82.4478

Aircraft

Piper PA28R

Registration

N9341N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fletcher → Greensboro

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20LA302

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that prior to the second flight of the day, there were no anomalies with the engine run up and proceeded to perform a soft field takeoff on the wet turf runway. He applied full throttle for takeoff and noted that the airplane was "slow" to accelerate, which he thought was because of the soft turf. As the airplane was in ground effect, it was not accelerating. He raised the landing gear in an attempt to increase performance, but the airplane began to settle since the engine was not making power. The airplane descended into a corn field off the departure end of the runway and impacted the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. Prior to exiting the airplane, the pilot turned the fuel selector off and all the switches off. A witness reported to the pilot that the engine was sputtering An examination of the engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions of the engine that would have precluded normal operation prior to the accident. However, there was no fuel noted in the fuel lines to the engine driven fuel pump, the gascolator, fuel flow divider, or fuel servo. Fuel was plumbed into the engine, it started immediately, and ran continuously without anomaly until the fuel selector was moved to the OFF position. The engine ran for 32 seconds prior to shutting down after the fuel selector was turned OFF. The pilot reported that he turned the fuel selector OFF after the airplane came to rest in the corn. According to the icing probability chart in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) CE-09-35, weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious carburetor icing at glide power. It is possible carburetor ice developed during the time the airplane spent with the engine running on the ground prior to takeoff. However, the evidence was inconclusive as to whether the engine lost power due to carburetor icing or due to the pilot incorrectly positioning the fuel selector switch prior to takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.