The airplane was manufactured in 1978. At the time of the accident, it had a tachometer time of 732.7 hours and 1,726.9 hours time since major overhaul on the engine. The most recent annual inspection was completed on March 29, 2020, at a tachometer time of 723.4 hours. At that time, the oil was changed, and the oil filter was replaced. In addition, a discrepancy noted on the work order for the maintenance indicated that the “oil temp[erature] probe is not reading correctly.”
According to the mechanic, the oil temperature probe was changed, and the oil lines were changed. When asked if the oil suction screen was cleaned during the most recent annual inspection, the mechanic stated that “oil cooler was cleaned…flushed, and reinstalled on the aircraft.”
On May 29, 2020, at a tach time of 726.0 hours, the airplane had a discrepancy that indicated the airplane was “running rough and low power.” The maintenance entry indicated that cylinder No. 4 was replaced, and the airplane was returned to service with no discrepancies.
According to a maintenance entry on June 9, 2020, at a tach time of 728.2 hours, a discrepancy was listed as “oil pressure low.” The entry indicated that the mechanic “adjusted oil pressure by turning regulator screw one turn and re-safety wired [the] nut.” The airplane was flown with no discrepancies and returned to service.
An examination of the engine maintenance logbook revealed that the most recent documented cleaning of the oil suction screen was July 17, 2009. At that time, the engine had accumulated 1,178.5 hours of time since major overhaul. Concerning maintenance of the oil suction and oil pressure screens, the engine’s operating manual stated, “at each 50 hours inspection, remove, inspect for metal particles, clean and reinstall.” It also noted “On installations employing external oil filters” the step involving inspecting the oil suction screen “should be observed at the 100-hour inspection.” The airframe service manual listed under the “Engine Group” that the oil suction strainer should be cleaned at every 50-hour interval.
On June 10, 2020, about 1631 central daylight time, a Piper PA-32RT-300T was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Selma, Alabama. The commercial pilot and pilot-rated passenger died in the crash.
According to the FBO, the airplane was fueled with 55 gallons of fuel prior to departure from Walker County Airport-Bevill Field (KJFX), in Jasper, Alabama. According to FAA air traffic control communications and radar data, the airplane departed JFX at 1543 with the intended destination of Pensacola International Airport (KPNS) in Florida.
After departure, the airplane climbed and leveled off at a cruise altitude of 15,000 feet mean sea level (msl). About 40 minutes into the flight, the pilot reported an engine “fluctuation” to the controller and requested to divert to Craig Field Airport (KSEM), in Selma, Alabama. The controller cleared the airplane to KSEM, and the pilot indicated that the propeller was turning, however, the airplane had experienced a total loss of engine power.
Soon after, while in the descent to KSEM, the pilot stated that there was a “fire as well.” When the airplane was about three miles from KSEM and about 3,100 feet msl, radar and voice communications were lost.
The airplane crashed in a field. The initial impact crater was about 4.5 feet deep, and the debris field was about 225 feet long by 120 feet wide.
Examination of the airframe revealed that the fuselage was largely fragmented.
The engine was separated from the airframe and located in the crater on the initial impact. The Nos. 1-4 cylinders were removed from the engine and examined. Corrosion was noted on the interior of cylinder No. 1, otherwise, there were no anomalies noted. Cylinders Nos. 5 and 6 were removed and the pistons could not be removed from the cylinders. The crankcase was examined, and a hole was in the top of the case in the vicinity of the No. 6 cylinder. The forward section of the 2-4-6 section side of the crankcase was impact damaged. The 1-3-5 side exhibited impact damage on the interior.
The top spark plugs were removed and examined. The Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 top spark plugs exhibited dark gray, worn, normal electrodes when compared to the Champion Check-A-Plug Chart. The remaining spark plugs were impact damaged.
The fuel pump and fuel servo were disassembled with no anomalies noted. The fuel screen was free of debris. The camshaft was fractured into two sections above the No. 6 crankshaft journal. The section of the camshaft near the aft portion of the engine exhibited thermal discoloration. The camshaft lobes exhibited normal wear.
The crankshaft was removed from the crankcase and examined. It remained in one piece but exhibited thermal discoloration on the aft section of the crankshaft. The Nos. 1 through 4 connecting rods remained attached to the crankshaft and the crankshaft bearing exhibited scoring and smearing. Nos. 5 and 6 connecting rods remained attached to the piston, which were lodged inside the cylinder. The No. 5 connecting rod was detached from the crankshaft journal. In addition, the journal exhibited extensive thermal discoloration and rotational scoring. The No. 6 connecting rod was detached from the crankshaft journal and small pieces of the No. 6 connecting rod and bearing were located. The rest of the connecting rod was not located. The No. 6 rod journal exhibited severe thermal discoloration.
The oil sump was removed from the engine and contained oil, metallic particles, small carbon chips, and organic debris. The oil suction screen was examined, and it was obstructed by debris that filled about 2/3-5/8 of the oil suction screen. The debris was retained for further examination.
The oil suction screen and debris were submitted to the NTSB Materials Laboratory for further examination. The debris was sorted using a magnet and the magnetic debris weighed 9.8 grams, while the non-magnetic debris weighed 3.1 grams. Approximately 75% of the debris was metallic and the remaining 25% of the debris was not metallic.
Probable Cause: The mechanic’s failure to clean the oil suction screen during the most recent maintenance, which resulted in oil starvation and a subsequent total loss of engine power.
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This June 2020 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
PA-32RT-300T is a Turbo T tail Lance. It does not have a carb, it is fuel injected. So the fuel lines, “spider” and injectors would need to be tested/cleaned, not a carb (there is even an AD about this based on time). BTDT with a IO540 Straight tail Lance. Get junk in there and you lose one or more injectors, you can’t make 100% power. Static run-up may be good, but the fuel flow will be too low (again, BTDT).
That the oil pressure was low, at normal RPM is indicative of some obstruction. Insufficient flow to the turbocharger may cause coking which makes this even worse and could be why the “non-metallic” stuff was in the screens.
Take what I say with some salt because I’m not an A&P. But the carb remarks do not specifically apply to an injected engine.
When the engine quits, it’s best to turn the plane into a glider, and fly it to the ground, so we don’t make a crater…
This is not a chicken and the egg scenario. If the engine was self destructing, which has to happen FIRST to generate debris, contamination should/would have been found in the oil filter at the annual indicating a problem. The LATER pressure adjustment was actually a temporary solution to a major internal problem developing.
But, nothing says if normal oil pressure decreases inspect the screen, and upon seeing contamination start disassembling the engine. Adjusting the pressure regulator is a common practice, and the problem may be a weakening regulator spring…or…the engine is coming apart with or without fragments in the screen yet.
People jumping to conclusions!
Aircraft owners and pilots need to be mindful that maintenance Errors create significant hazard and must act accordingly the most likely time for an aircraft to suffer mechanical problem is on the first flight after maintenance be thoroughly Skeptical anytime Aircraft comes out of the shop your preflight and post flight maintenance test flight or last line of defense against maintenance errors.
I specifically specify to inspect that screen and the finger screen in the carb at each annual. The carb screen is frequently missed or neglected.
Besides those 2 items, I remove the carb bowl drain plug and flush the the bowl into a can to see what grit was there.
Note that the main jet picks up fuel at this lowest point in the carb bowl, where the drain plug is.!
If get any material when sumping the gas-colator, I’ll disassemble it and clean the bowl and the inlet screen.