Pilot Debrief

DIAMOND DA40 near Yorktown Heights, NY — 2023-06-29

Final reportERA23LA285
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Date
2023-06-29
Location
Yorktown Heights, NY, USA
Aircraft
DIAMOND DA40
Registration
N44HH
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

A fatigue failure of the turbocharger housing, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.

NTSB narrative

The pilot intended to fly his airplane to an airport for an annual inspection. During the flight, while climbing to cruise altitude, the engine began to lose power. The pilot subsequently attempted a forced landing to a school field. During the forced landing, the airplane was in a steep right bank when the wingtip struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the empennage. The postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the diesel engine’s turbocharger induction housing was fractured in half and exhibited signs of an existing fracture surface. Further metallurgical examination revealed that the turbocharger housing separated consistent with fatigue cracking. The fatigue cracking emanated from the outer surface of the housing and proceeded circumferentially. Steps on the fracture surface indicated that fatigue cracking on multiple planes had coalesced into one main fatigue crack. The remainder of the fracture surface had macro features consistent with overstress. Based on this information, it is likely that failure of the turbocharger housing resulted in a reduced quantity of intake air being available to the engine and resulted in the partial loss of engine power described by the pilot.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Inspect turbocharger more frequently to prevent power loss.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 9 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents9

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