20000818041159A

(.4) On August 18, 2000, at 1530 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-301, N411JL, was substantially damaged during a forced landing and ditching in the atlantic ocean near Kennebunkport, Maine. The certificated airline transport pilot/owner and one passenger received minor injuries. A second passenger was seriously injured, and two additional passengers were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated at pease international tradeport (psm), portsmouth, new hampshire, approximately 1500. An IFR flight plan was filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR part 91 and destined for liverpool, nova scotia. In a telephone interview, the pilot/owner said the purpose of the flight was to go to Canada for a weekend of boating. He said the takeoff and climb to altitude were uneventful, and that the airplane was in cruise flight at 9,000 feet with the autopilot engaged, when he heard a loud report from the engine compartment. He also stated: "we were at 9,000 feet and I heard a muffled 'bang', and then the windshield was covered with oil. I pushed 'nearest airport' on the GPS and it indicated that biddeford was 19.4 miles away on a heading of 340. I pulled the throttle back as soon as it blew, I assumed it was a connecting rod. This one didn't vibrate as much as I would have expected. I throttled back to reduce the vibration and I had about a 500 foot-per-minute rate of descent. At about 4 to 5 thousand feet it seized. I was talking to center the whole time and I told her I couldn't make the beach. I had three boats in sight. There was a 130-foot cabin cruiser and I circled that, but thought they might have trouble getting us into the boat, so I went for the sailboat. I stabilized at 80 knots and hit the water a lot harder than I expected. I couldn't tell which way the swells were going. I was trying to land parallel but I couldn't read the seas. I had to look out the side window and had a hard time judging my flare. In fact, I don't think I flared at all. It seemed a swell came up and smacked the nose." The pilot described his exit from the airplane and the help he was able to provide his wife for her egress from the wreckage. He said that he, his wife, and one passenger all met at the ocean surface. In a telephone interview, the middle row passenger stated that he had flown in the accident airplane several tim es and was quite familiar with the emergency exits and their operation. He also stated said that in the early portion of the trip, he monitored the progress of the flight on a hand-held GPS receiver. According to the passenger: "there was a loud noise and the windshield was covered with oil, and the oil trailed down the sides. I thought to myself, 'we've thrown a rod and there's a hole in the crankcase.' We made a sharp turn towards land and the engine ran for several minutes until it seized at last." The passenger also noted that during the descent, he checked the airplane's position against waypoints he had stored in the GPS, and determined that the airplane would be unable to reach land. He said that during this time he accepted a life vest from the pilot, donned it, and partially inflated it. "We were at 30 feet and about 80 to 85 knots. We hit with a loud thump. I don't think we yawed or rolled, but we pitched down. We slammed into the ocean. The impact was just tremendous." The passenger described his egress through the cabin door and that he was only aware of his own exit from the airplane. Pleasure boaters rescued three of the five occupants approximately 5 miles southeast of walker's point, Kennebunkport, Maine. Search, rescue, and recovery efforts by the united states coast guard and the Maine state police for the remaining two occupants were unsuccessful. The search for the airplane was suspended on August 25, 2000. The accident occurred during the hours of daylight at 43 degrees, 12.0 minutes north latitude and 070 degrees, 14.0 minutes west longitude. (-23) see narrative #IAD00LA076. (.19) see preliminary report #IAD00LA076.