20190923013589A

N5277C had not been flown in two or three weeks per the aircraft owner. When the owner and a CFI attempted to start the engine, it wouldn'tt start and required a jump-start from a local mechanic. The mechanic noticed fuel dribbling from a vent tube below the engine cowling before the engine was started and thought it was because of excessive priming or a stuck carburetor float. After getting the airplane started about 1530 PDT, the CFI taxied the airplane over to a local FBO to fuel the airplane. After both left and right wing fuel tanks were topped off, the line service employee noticed fuel draining from a tube in the engine cowling area while the engine was being started. The airplane was jump-started again due to a dead battery. The mechanic who had initially jump-started N5277C, noticed the airplane holding near rwy 15 at scappoose industrial airpark (spb), OR at 1615 PDT, and estimated it had been running about 30 minutes prior to takeoff. Radar tracks start at about 1630 PDT and continue until 1753 PDT, when the airplane impacted the ground.

Radar track at 1752 shows N5277C in a steady descent from 2200 feet. The pilot contacted ATC saying that they may have lost their propeller governor. After ATC asked what they needed. The pilot responded they were trying to get the prop working and that they were landing off field. ATC asked if they will be landing right where they are and the pilot responds with their call sign when radar contact was lost. The accident occurred at 1753 PDT.

At or just prior to 1752, in the CFI statement, he said, we heard a very loud audible increase in the speed of the engine as if we had manipulated the propeller knob to the full forward position. Moments later the engine audibly slowed down drastically as if we had manipulated the propeller knob to the full aft position and neither the propeller or the throttle knobs were manipulated at that point. He also stated, I then took over the controls tried cycling propeller from hi-rpm to low-rpm but with no audible or visible changes on the instruments. I then attempted to adjust the throttle setting to see if that would help but once again no change appeared either audibly from the engine nor did I notice a change on the engine instruments. I started to troubleshoot the engine/propeller, I cycled the magnetos, enrichen the mixture, propeller hi-rpm, prop low-rpm, throttle full in and full out due to the propeller being stuck in the low RPM setting with the cables not responding to movement the airplane was creating a lot of drag and I was not able to maintain altitude.

The CFI looked for and found a field that wasnt populated. He circled to use the full length of the field and extended the landing gear. The student/aircraft owners statement supports the cfis account but includes in his statement that at about 300 to 400 feet, maybe a little less, 100 feet, the plane shifted to the left, stalled, and fell out of the sky. He wasnt sure of the landing gear was lowered. He said that when they first hit some trees it shifted them to the left and then immediately to the right on impact.

Inspection of the propeller showed that one propeller blade appeared to have been folded under the engine at impact but the other blade had no marks of impact and appeared undamaged. Inspection of the fuel tanks showed that the left wing bladder type fuel cell was found full of fuel and the right wing bladder type fuel cell appeared to be intact and was empty. The fuel selector was found with the r.h. tank 17 gal. Usable selected.