Maintenance was Overlooked and Crashed At Night

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Welcome to Tower Tales, your hub for captivating ATC and pilot audio. If you enjoy our content, please like, comment, share, and subscribe. Your support helps us bring you even more incredible aviation stories. Subscribe now at • / @towertales • Our audio is sourced from LiveATC.net • We'd love to hear your suggestions, feedback, or content ideas. Reach us at [email protected] • Description Of The Incident • Narrative: • On September 14, 2022, about 2300 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300, N2104J, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Afton, Virginia. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. • During a night cross-country flight over remote mountainous terrain, the pilot reported a total loss of engine power to air traffic control. He attempted to glide to a nearby airport, but the airplane impacted trees about 15 miles from the airport. • Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft could not be rotated by hand and about 1 quart of oil remained in the sump. No oil was observed on the ramp at the departure airport and no oil streaks were observed on the airframe, but postimpact fire consumed a majority of the airframe. Teardown examination of the engine revealed that the Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6, connecting rods likely failed as a result of oil starvation. A crack was noted in the oil sump, but metallurgical examination revealed overstress features consistent with impact forces and thermal stress, indicating that the damage was likely sustained during impact; no fatigue was observed. Due to fire and impact damage, the investigation could not determine the reason for the oil starvation/loss that ultimately resulted in the loss of engine power. • Probable Cause: • A catastrophic engine failure due to oil starvation, which resulted in a total loss of engine power at night over mountainous terrain.

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