ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 318218
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| Date: | Thursday 20 July 2023 |
| Time: | 09:34 |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31P Pressurized Navajo |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N200RA |
| MSN: | 31P-7400198 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1192 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Kearney, MO -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Mosby-Midwest National Air Center Airport, MO (KGPH) |
| Kingman Airport/Clyde Cessna Field, KS (9K8) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On July 20, 2023, about 0934 central daylight time, a Piper PA-31P airplane, N200RA, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Kearney, Missouri. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 maintenance ferry flight.
According to multiple witnesses, the owner and a mechanic worked on the airplane for about six months; the most recent annual inspection was completed in 2015. Two witnesses reported that during an engine ground run about two weeks before the accident, the right engine was difficult to start and would not produce full power. The witnesses also stated that the inboard fuel tanks “horribly” leaked fuel anytime the airplane was fueled.
About two weeks before the accident, the owner received a Special Airworthiness Certificate: Special Flight Permit, to ferry the airplane from Mosby, Missouri, to Kingman, Kansas, to complete an annual inspection. Witnesses reported that three pilots declined to perform the ferry flight for the owner.
Before the accident flight, the owner requested an airport lineman to fuel the airplane. During the fueling of 18.53 gallons of Avgas, an unknown amount of fuel leaked from the right-wing inboard fuel tank (see Figure 1.). According to the mechanic, the airplane had 140 gallons onboard divided between both 50 gallon inboard wing fuel tanks and 40 gallons in the right wing auxiliary fuel tank.
Multiple cellphone video recordings of the takeoff sequence showed the airplane veer to the right and attempt to rotate and before the airplane settled back to the runway. The recordings showed the airplane become airborne near the runway end and yaw to the right before it climbed parallel with the rising terrain. The witnesses observed the airplane barely cleared a line of trees past the departure end of the runway and made a left turn before it disappeared behind trees.
A witness about 1.60 nautical miles to the north of the airport stated he heard a loud airplane which appeared from behind trees headed towards his residence. He observed the airplane strike two static wires on a power transmission line before it impacted the canopy of a large tree in his front yard (see Figure 2.). The airplane continued in a left bank toward a nearby soybean field and impacted the terrain in a nose-low, left bank attitude. The airplane slid several hundred feet, and a postcrash fire ensued.
The accident site was located in a relatively flat agricultural field about 1.6 nautical miles north of the runway. The wires were located about 735 ft before the main wreckage and were about 65 ft above ground level (agl). The second identified point of contact was tree canopy impact about 60 ft AGL and 150 ft after the wire strike. The airplane then impacted the ground and a debris path extended in the field about 313 ft. on a heading of 254°, to the main wreckage.
The main wreckage consisted of the fuselage, empennage, right wing, and the left wing separated near normal orientation and location.
The airplane was retained for further examination.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article277499023.html
https://www.kmbc.com/article/small-plane-crash-clay-county-cornfield-kearney/44600491
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumbertxt=200RA
https://photos-e1.flightcdn.com/photos/retriever/3234dbfb37e3daa9b9b0081116dc8b930268f01b (photo)
Location
Media:
Police say one person is dead after a plane crashed and caught fire Thursday just east of Kearney, Missouri.
— KMBC (@kmbc) July 20, 2023
Story: https://t.co/2qED20Yxvw pic.twitter.com/9DAuO4A1nh
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Jul-2023 16:48 | harro | Added |
| 20-Jul-2023 16:56 | harro | Updated |
| 20-Jul-2023 17:38 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 21-Jul-2023 05:40 | johnwg | Updated |
| 21-Jul-2023 07:08 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 21-Jul-2023 19:54 | Anon. | Updated |
| 09-Aug-2023 20:34 | Captain Adam | Updated |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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