# Accident 19990414003489A: Piper PA44180, Vero Beach, FL, April 14, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 14, 1999, 11:39 local time
- Place: Vero Beach, FL
- Airport: Vero Beach Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Forced Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 27.6677° N, 80.4091° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs from the FAA’s distance and direction from , within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=27.6677&lon=-80.4091&mi=10
- Aircraft: N30397, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N30397-2000-04-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-44-180 (registry code 7104402, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-44-180) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA44180
- Reported engine: LYC O360E1A6
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 426 total, 16 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA99LA128](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA128) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990414003489A

## Narrative

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

ACFT LEFT ENGINE DETACHED FROM THE ACFT, AND THE PILOT MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN THE WOODS NORTH OF THE ARPT, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               (.4) WHILE MANEUVERING THE AIRPLANE AT 4,000 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL, THE FLIGHTCREW HEARD A LOUD NOISE FROM THE LEFT ENGINE AND SAW THAT THE LEFT ENGINE HAD DROPPED DOWN ABOUT 45 DEGREES FROM THE NORMAL POSITION. THEY RETURNED TO THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. WHEN THE LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED THE LEFT ENGINE DROPPED DOWN FURTHER. THEY WERE UNABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL DUE TO THE DRAG AND MADE A FORCED LANDING IN A WOODED AREA. POST CRASH EXAMINATION SHOWED THE LEFT PROPELLER HUB HAD FAILED DUE TO FATIGUE CRACKING CAUSING A BLADE TO SEPARATE. THE REMAINDER OF THE PROPELLER SEPARATED WHEN THE PROPELLER FLANGE SEPARATED DUE TO OVERSTRESS AND THE ENGINE DROPPED DOWN WHEN THE ENGINE MOUNT SEPARATED DUE TO OVERSTRESS. THE LEFT PROPELLER HAD SUSTAINED DAMAGE IN A GEAR UP LANDING 525 FLIGHT HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE BLADES WERE BENT BEYOND REPAIRABLE LIMITS AND SCRAPPED. THE HUB WAS INSPECTED AND RETURNED TO SERVICE WITH NEW BLADES. THE MANUFACTURER'S PROCEDURES CALL FOR A HUB TO BE RETIRED IF THE BLADES RECEIVE DAMAGE BEYOND REPAIRABLE LIMITS AND ARE SCRAPPED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB MIA99LA128](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA128), Apr 14, 1999: Piper PA-44-180 (N30397), Vero Beach, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The improper return to service of a propeller hub by a propeller overhaul company which according to manufacturer's procedures should have been retired due to damage to propeller blades from sudden…

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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