ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 356676
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| Date: | Thursday 19 September 1996 |
| Time: | 18:00 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-32-300 |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N9VM |
| MSN: | 32-764009 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3109 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-540-K1A5 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Georgetown, SC -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | (KGGE) |
| Savannah, GA (KSAV) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
While climbing through about 2,500 feet after takeoff, the engine lost power. The pilot was forced to land on unsuitable terrain, which resulted in a collision with a tree. After the accident, the engine's left magneto was found jammed due to a failed impulse coupling. The jammed magneto broke the idler gear and the crankshaft gear with which it meshed, precipitating a total loss of power. The impulse coupling was the subject of an airworthiness directive that required recurring inspections at each 500 hours of engine operation. Records showed that the last inspection of the magneto was in November 1988, 432 hours after the engine had been overhauled. The last annual inspection was in October 1995, with a tachometer time of 2,905 hours since overhaul. At the time of the accident, the engine had a total flight time of 3,109 hours recorded since overhaul.
Probable Cause: failure of maintenance personnel to comply with an airworthiness directive, requiring periodic magneto inspections; inadequate annual inspection of the airplane by (other) maintenance personnel; and subsequent failure of the impulse coupling in the left magneto, which resulted in a jammed magneto, failure of the idler and crankshaft gears, and subsequent loss of engine power. The lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing was a related factor.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB ATL96LA128
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Mar-2024 09:44 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
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