Pilot Debrief

PIPER PA-32R-300 near Naperville, IL — 2010-10-06

Final reportCEN11FA007
Sign in to save
Date
2010-10-06
Location
Naperville, IL, USA
Airport
LL10
Aircraft
PIPER PA-32R-300
Registration
N3402Q
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Takeoff roll

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to abort the takeoff when he realized the airplane was not attaining sufficient takeoff and climb performance. Contributing to the accident was the airplane’s partial loss of engine power due to an obstruction of the fuel servo air inlet by the intake duct coupling and ingestion of exhaust gases from a preexisting hole in the exhaust pipe. Also contributing to the accident was the improper annual inspection of the airplane by the owner and two mechanics.

Contributing factors

Contributing to the accident was the airplane’s partial loss of engine power due to an obstruction of the fuel servo air inlet by the intake duct coupling and ingestion of exhaust gases from a preexisting hole in the exhaust pipe. Also contributing to the accident was the improper annual inspection of the airplane by the owner and two mechanics.

NTSB narrative

During takeoff, the pilot rotated the airplane beyond the airplane's takeoff ground roll distance and at a speed near the airplane’s stall speed. A witness saw the airplane climb with a nose-up pitch of about 20 degrees. Although the airplane had experienced a partial loss of engine power, as reported by the pilot, it was still able to climb while in a high pitch attitude and corresponding high drag attitude, which is indicative that the airplane had excess horsepower to climb and sustain flight at higher airspeeds and lower angles of attack. However, the pilot continued to attempt to climb rather than to abort the takeoff, exceeded the necessary power requirements, and was unable to sustain the climb; the airplane impacted a building. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s engine revealed a detached fuel servo air inlet coupling that would have perturbed or restricted airflow to the fuel servo, which resulted in the reduced engine power. The examination also revealed a preexisting hole in an exhaust pipe near the fuel servo that would have allowed hot exhaust gases to flow into the fuel servo air inlet, which would also result in reduced engine power. The airplane had undergone an annual inspection performed by the airplane’s owner and two mechanics with inspection authorizations 3 flight hours before the accident flight; the inspection should have identified the detached coupling and the hole in the exhaust pipe.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot did not perform a runway performance calculation before takeoff.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • FDR / data
  • Photos
  • 33 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents33

Related mishaps