ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 305387
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| Date: | Thursday 29 December 2022 |
| Time: | 13:29 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-24-260 Comanche |
| Owner/operator: | Two 6 Papa LLC |
| Registration: | N9026P |
| MSN: | 24-4488 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1966 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5768 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Athens/Ben Epps Airport (AHN/KAHN), Athens, GA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Athens Airport, GA (AHN/KAHN) |
| Dalton Municipal Airport, GA (DNN/KDNN) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On December 29, 2022, about 1329 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-24-260, N9026P, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Athens, Georgia. The pilot sustained minor injuries and the passenger was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot completed a preflight inspection, including sampling the fuel to check for water contamination, then departed with a passenger for a flight after maintenance was completed on the airplane. The pilot reported that a few minutes into the flight, after leveling off at 3,000 ft mean sea level, the engine seemed to power down, as if the power went to idle. The pilot established best glide airspeed and attempted to restore engine power; however, he was unable to restore power, so he declared an emergency and turned back toward the airport. Unable to make the airport, the pilot performed a forced landing into trees, substantially damaging the fuselage, empennage, and both wings.
Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed that the electrical fuel pump would not operate. Disassembly of the pump revealed rust at and around the shaft bearing, indicative of water having been in the airplane’s fuel system. Examination of the engine revealed that the left magneto ground strap was not connected to the magneto and its hardware was not located. Also, debris was observed in the fuel servo filter and water was observed in the fuel samples and gascolator bowl. Based on the condition of the fuel and fuel-related components, it is likely that the loss of engine power was due to contamination of the fuel supply with water. It is unlikely that the loss of one magneto due to a disconnected ground strap resulted in a noticeable loss of power since the airplane had a second, functioning magneto.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to detect water in the fuel during the preflight inspection, which resulted in a loss of engine power.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/athens-clarke-county-small-plane-crash
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=106513
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=9026P
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N9026P/history/20221229/1805Z/KAHN/KDNN
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=ac79d2&lat=33.970&lon=-83.334&zoom=13.0&showTrace=2022-12-29&leg=2
https://s3.amazonaws.com/mfbimages/logbook/images/aircraft/id/184001/2020112014475862-4172206_.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-May-2024 00:54 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Phase, Source, Damage, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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