Piper PA-30 N4743M

Summary

On 8 July 2023 at about 14:41 local time, a Piper PA-30 registered N4743M was involved in an accident near Sherman, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2023 at 14:41

Classification

Accident

Location

Sherman, Texas, United States

Coordinates

33.5816, -96.5049

Aircraft

Piper PA-30

Registration

N4743M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

McKinney → Sherman

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23FA284

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain control during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. Contributing was the pilot’s failure to feather the left propeller following the loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The multi-engine airplane was in level flight at 5,000 ft on a north heading toward the destination airport. Onboard data indicated the right engine’s fuel flow fluctuated for about 15 seconds. About 20 seconds later, the left engine fuel flow reduced to zero. The airplane made a slow descent toward the east for about 9 minutes, away from the destination airport. The airplane then turned west back toward the airport and continued a slow descent. About 10 minutes later, the airplane was less than 100 ft above ground level, with a groundspeed of about 61 knots. The airplane turned left about 40° during the last 4 seconds of recorded data and subsequently impacted a field with a nose-down attitude. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the left engine’s fuel selector was in the off position and right engine’s fuel selector valve was in the main tank position. The right fuel selector valve was corroded, which most likely resulted in the right engine fuel flow fluctuations. It is possible that the pilot moved the left engine fuel selector from auxiliary tank to off inadvertently when he intended to move the right engine’s fuel selector from the auxiliary tank to the main tank. The left-engine propeller was not feathered at the accident site, which resulted in additional in-flight drag and a higher minimum controllable airspeed (VMC). During the attempted forced landing, the pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a loss of control and a nose-down impact with terrain. The pilot’s toxicology results indicated use of the sedating antihistamine medication diphenhydramine, and he may have experienced associated impairing effects at the time of the accident. More precise interpretation of the diphenhydramine level in cavity blood was not possible. The pilot also had used other drugs that may have had adverse side effects (yohimbine, as well as both tadalafil and tamsulosin), although there was no way to determine whether such side effects were present or significant. The investigation was not able to determine the role the pilot’s medication usage may have played in the accident sequence.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.