Piper PA-28-140 N44245

Summary

On 2 August 2021 at about 16:30 local time, a Piper PA-28-140 registered N44245 was involved in an accident near Amado, Arizona, 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

2 August 2021 at 16:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Amado, Arizona, United States

Coordinates

31.6516, -111.0479

Aircraft

Piper PA-28-140

Registration

N44245

Category

Airplane

Year built

1974

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Nogales → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR21LA301

Nobody was injured.

The inflight separation of a section of a propeller blade due to a fatigue crack, which resulted in a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that during the flight, the airplane suddenly started vibrating. After checking the magneto switch and looking over the instruments for any cylinder anomalies, he shut down the engine. The pilot initiated a forced landing to a field during which the right wing impacted a tree. The airplane landed hard in a muddy field, collapsing the nose landing gear. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a portion of the propeller blade had separated in flight. Examination of the propeller revealed that the propeller blade exhibited a fatigue crack that initiated near the trailing edge of the blade. Metal transfer from an alloy dissimilar to that of the blade’s material likely resulted from an object that impacted the blade face near the trailing edge. The red transfer marks on the blade were likely impact marks from contacting the engine cowling during the accident sequence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.