# Accident 20030313003569A: Piper PA28R200, Delta, CO, March 13, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 13, 2003, 12:25 local time
- Place: Delta, CO
- Airport: Blake Field Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.7067° N, 108.1503° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7067&lon=-108.1503&mi=10
- Aircraft: N16438 (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA28R200
- Reported engine: CONT IO360*
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 4,500 total, 350 in this make and model, 1 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DEN03LA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN03LA050) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030313003569A

## Narrative

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

(-23) PILOT STATED (MR. OWEN) AT CRUISE APPROX. 8,000 FEET, ENGINE VIBRATEDSEVERELY AND SEEMED TO SEIZE, (PROP STOPPED). SMOKE CAME OUT OF ENGINE AREA. PILOT STATED THEY SET UP FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. THEY STATED THEY TRIED TO MAKE A DIRT ROAD, BUT UNABLE TO. A FIELD WAS SPOTTED, BUT HAD HILLS, MR. HEAD TOLD MR. OWENS, HE HAD CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT FOR CRASH LANDING. AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST IN A BLM FIELD WEST OF DELTA, CO. AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. BOTH PILOTS ABOARD SUSTAINED NO INJURIES AT TIME. THE BLM FIELD STATED IS NEXT TO DELTA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY. THIS AIRCRAFT WAS TESTING A NEWLY OVERHAULED ENGINE BY WESTERN SKYWAYS, INC. OF MONTROSE, CO. MR. ALLEN STATED ALL GROUND TESTS CHECKED GOOD, SO IT WAS DECIDED TO GO ON WITH A TEST FLIGHT. MR. ALLEN HEAD IS THE WESTERN SKYWAYS, INC. PRESIDENT. AIRCRAFT WITH ENGINE ARE BEING TRANSPORTED TO BEAGLES FOR TEAR DOWN INSPECTION OF ENGINE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE. FAA WILL BE PRESENT FOR THIS TEAR DOWN OF THE ENGINE.

## 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 DEN03LA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN03LA050), Mar 13, 2003: Piper PA-28R-200 (N16438), Delta, CO, substantial damage. Probable cause: the loss of engine power due to company maintenance personnel's inadequate major engine overhaul (an oil pressure fitting in the engine accessory drive case had not been capped). Contributing factors…

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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