# Incident 19951217047069I: Piper PA34200, Smyrna, TN, December 17, 1995

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 17, 1995, 15:00 local time
- Place: Smyrna, TN
- Airport: Smyrna
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.0090° N, 86.5201° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at SMYRNA (MQY), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.0090&lon=-86.5201&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6241J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6241J-2014-11-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-34-200T (registry code 7103406, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-34-200t) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-360 series (registry code 17019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA34200
- Reported engine: CONT TSIO360E
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 2,050 total, 1,600 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19951217047069I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

NARRATIVE: ON THE AFTERNOON OF DECEMBER 17, 1995, AT ABOUT 2:00 P.M., LOCAL TIME, I DEPARTED GWINNETT COUNTY - BRISCOE FIELD, LZU, NEAR ATLANTA, GA ON A FLIGHT TO NASHVILLE METROPOLITAN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, BNA, IN NASHVILLE, TN WHICH SHOULD HAVE INVOLVED A FLIGHT TIME OF ABOUT 1:05. I HAD OBTAINED A STANDARD IFR BRIEFING FROM FLIGHT SERVICE, VIA THE 1-800 NUMBER, AND WAS SATISFIED THAT THE FLIGHT COULD BE CONDUCTED SAFELY. A PREFLIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT REVEAL ANY REASON TO ABORT THE FLIGHT. I INITIATED THE FLIGHT, JOINED ATC AND CLIMBED, AS DIRECTED, TO 6,000 FEET PROCEEDED, IN MOSTLY IMC CONDITIONS, AND CONDUCTED A NORMAL AND UNEVENTFUL FLIGHT UNTIL ABOUT 45 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTHEAST OF NASHVILLE. AT THAT POINT, I WAS DIRECTED, BY MEMPHIS CENTER, TO DESCEND TO 4,000 FEET TO JOIN NASHVILLE APPROACH AND, AT THAT TIME, I BECAME CONCERNED AT THE AMOUNT OF FUEL BEING INDICATED. I USED RIGHT AND LEFT RUDDER TO CANT THE AIRCRAFT BACK AND FORTH TO SEE HOW MUCH MOVEMENT I GOT ON THE FUEL GAUGE NEEDLES AND AT THAT POINT BECAME SEVERELY CONCERNED AND SO ADVISED NASHVILLE APPROACH. APPROACH OFFERED ME A VECTOR TO THE SMYRNA AIRPORT,SOME 4 NAUTICAL MILES OFF THE LEFT WING AND I OPTED FOR VECTOR.AFTER TURNING TO A HEADING OF 260 DEGREES, AS DIRECTED, THE LEFT ENGINE BECAME INOPERATIVE, ALSO FAILING TO RESPOND TO CROSS-FEEDING. AT THIS POINT I DID NOT HAVE VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE SMYRNA AIRPORT. WITHIN A SHORT TIME, LESS THAN 1 MINUTE, THE RIGHT ENGINE ALSO BECAME INOPERATIVE AND I DECIDED THAT CONTINUING TO THE SMYRNA AIRPORT WAS NOT AN OPTION. AT ABOUT 2700 FEET, I WAS NOW BELOW THE CLOUD LAYER AND, BEING FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA, REALIZED THAT I WAS OVER J. PERCY PRIEST LAKE. WITH BOTH ENGINES INOPERATIVE AND HARSH TERRAIN BELOW, I MADE THE DECISION TO PICK THE MOST FAVORABLE SPOT AND SET THE AIRCRAFT DOWN. I CHOSE A MUD BANK AND LANDED THERE. UPON CONTROLLED CONTACT WITH THE SURFACE, THE AIRCRAFT SLID TO A STOP IN VERY SHORT ORDER, MAYBE LESS THAN 10 SECONDS. MY TWO PASSENGERS AND MYSELF WERE UNHURT. I ACTIVATED MY CELLULAR TELEPHONE AND CALLED NASHVILLE FLIGHT SERVICE TO ADVISE THEM OF MY SITUATION AND MY INFORMATION TO THEM. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, PERHAPS :20 MINUTES, WE WERE PICKED UP AND TRANSPORTED FROM THE SCENE OF THE LANDING. THE AIRCRAFT REMAINS ON THE SCENE, FOR REASONS OF WEATHER, AS OF 12/21/95, AND SO I AM UNABLE TO STATE TO WHAT EX TENT SHE IS DAMAGED, ALTHOUGH SHE DOES REMAIN REASONABLY INTACT. I CONTINUE TO BE IN CONTACT WITH A MR. LYNN W. LAFEVER, SR., OF THE FLIGHT STANDARDS DIST. OFFICE, WHO IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS AN FAA OFFICIAL WHO HAS HAD THE MATTER ASSIGNED TO HIM.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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