# Accident 20201002018469A: Piper PA46-500TP, Lake Elmo, MN, October 2, 2020 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: October 2, 2020, 15:05 local time - Place: Lake Elmo, MN - Airport: Lake Elmo Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 45.0012° N, 92.8724° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.0012&lon=-92.8724&mi=10 - Aircraft: N62ZM, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N62ZM-2024-04-30) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper PA46-500TP (registry code 7104622, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa46-500tp) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA46-500TP - Reported engine: P&W PT6A SER - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 2 - Pilot certificates: Airline transport - Pilot flight hours: 3,829 total, 42 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN21LA004](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21LA004) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20201002018469A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. 2020-10-02, 1505L, N62ZM A PIPER MERIDIAN, DEPARTED RWY 32 AT LAKE ELMO AIRPORT (21D). THE GEAR AND FLAPS WERE RAISED, IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER THERE WAS A MOMENTARY POWER LOSS. AS THE PIC RETURNED HIS HAND TO THROTTLE, POWER WAS RESTORED AND HE MADE A LEFT TURN WITH THE INTENT TO RETURN TO RWY 04 FOR LANDING. THE AIRCRAFT MADE A 140 DEGREE LEFT TURN AND CRASHED IN A CORNFIELD HEADING 278 DEG AND .6 MILES FROM THE DEPARTURE END OF RWY 32. THE MORNING OF THE MISHAP WAS THE FIRST FLIGHT FOR THIS PIC IN HIS NEWLY PURCHASED AIRCRAFT. HE PICKED IT UP FROM THE COMPANY THAT DID THE PREBUY AND MAINTENANCE PUNCHLIST FOR HIM AT ANOKA COUNTY AIRPORT, MN (KANE). HE FLEW THE AIRCRAFT FOR 11 MIN FROM KANE TO 21D, THE INTENT WAS TO PURCHASE CHEAPER FUEL AND FLY BACK TO TEXAS. AFTER LANDING THE PIC NOTICED FUEL DRIPPING FROM THE ENGINE AND ON THE NOSE GEAR DOOR. HE CALLED THE MAINTENANCE SHOP AND WAS DIRECTED TO DRAIN THE EPA TANK. ONE CUP OF FUEL WAS DRAINED. AFTER FUELING, THE PIC AND HIS WIFE WENT OUT TO DEPART. THE PIC NOTICED THE ITT DID NOT RISE ON THE START ATTEMPT, AND THEN REALIZED HE HAD NOT TURNED ON BOOST PUMPS OR IGNITORS, SO HE ABORTED THE START. SOME WHITE/YELLOWISH SMOKE ROSE FROM THE TOP ENGINE COWL; MAINTENACE CONTRIBUTED IT TO COLD FUEL BEING SPRAYED ON HOT TURBINE BLADES. THE PIC DEPARTED FOR 4 HOURS LETTING THE AIRCRAFT REST AND THEN RETURNED FOR AN UNEVENTFUL START UP, RUN UP AND TAKE OFF ROLL. COUNTY 5/STILLWATER ROAD IS .7 MILES NORTH OF RWY 32 AND RUNS HORIZONTAL TO IT. THE AIRCRAFT PATH NEVER CROSSED THIS ROAD ACCORDING TO A WITNESS. THIS SUGGESTS A GEOMETRY THAT APPROXIMATELY .3 MILES AFTER THE END OF THE RUNWAY N62ZM BEGAN ITS LEFT TURN. THE PIC DESCRIBED IT AS "AN AGGRESSIVE" LEFT TURN. ONLY 140 DEGREES OF TURN WAS COMPLETED, HOWEVER APPROXIMATING THE GEOMETRY, HAD 180 DEGREES BEEN ACCOMPLISHED THIS AIRCRAFT WOULD HAVE BEEN ON ABOUT A .4 MILE PARALLEL DOWNWIND TO RWY 32, SUGGESTING A TIGHTER TURN THAN STANDARD. SOMEWHERE PASSING 90 DEGREES OF TURN THE PIC EXPERIENCED POWER LOSS, LOWERED THE NOSE WITH THE INTENT TO LAND IN THE CORNFIELD AS HE SAW THE LINE OF HARDWOOD TREES JUST PASS THE CORN. THESE TREES ARE ALONG THE TRAIN TRACKS, LESS THAN A TENTH OF A MILE PAST THE POINT WHERE HIS AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST. THE PIC STATES THAT THEY HIT HARD WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH WITNESSES STATING THEY SAW THE AIRCRAFT DISAPPEAR IN THE 9 FOOT CORN AND THEN BOUNCE UP FOR A VISUAL FLASH. THE CHOP PATTERN ALSO SUGGEST THAT THE LEFT WING DID COME BACK UP AFTER THE INITIAL IMPACT. FROM INITIAL IMPACT TO STOPPING POINT WAS APPROXIMATELY 300 FT. A POST CRASH FIRE BEGAN FORWARD AND RIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT. THE PIC SHUT OFF THE CONDITION LEVER AND BATTERY AND THEY BOTH SELF EGRESSED THE LEFT SIDE DOOR. HIS WIFE IMMEDIATELY STARTED TO FIGHT THE FIRE WITH THE ON BOARD HAND HELD EXTINGUISHER TO NO AVAIL. NEARBY FIREFIGHTERS ARRIVED ON AN ATV AND FOUGHT THE BLAZE. THE RIGHT WING WAS BURNED AND FIRE DAMAGE OCCURRED ALONG THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE FUSELAGE. ALL PROP BLADES HAD BROKEN OFF, REMNANTS FOUND NEAR INITIAL POINT OF IMPACT. THE GEAR AND FLAPS WERE UP. SALVAGE CREWS PUMPED OUT A FULL LEFT WING AND FEW GALLONS REMAINED ON THE RIGHT SIDE AS WELL. FIRST RESPONDERS CALLED FOR TRANSPORT OF BOTH PERSONS. THE PIC WAS TREATED FOR MINORS WHILE HIS WIFE WAS ADMITTED FOR EXTENSIVE BACK SURGERY. THE AIRCRAFT SUFFERED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE AND IS AWAITING A POST ACCIDENT MANUFACTURER ENGINE EXAM. AMENDMENT WILL BE MADE AS APPROPRIATE. ## 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 CEN21LA004](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21LA004), Oct 2, 2020: Piper PA46 (N62ZM), Lake Elmo, MN, substantial damage. Probable cause: A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined. 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.