# Accident 20220430011379A: Piper PA-32R-301, Loogootee, IN, April 30, 2022

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 30, 2022, 20:10 local time
- Place: Loogootee, IN
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.7157° N, 86.9128° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7157&lon=-86.9128&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4303P, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4303P) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-32R-301 (registry code 7103218, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-301) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-32R-301
- Reported engine: LYCOMING IO-540
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,983 total, 2,500 in this make and model, 40 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN22LA186](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22LA186) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220430011379A

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 30, 2022, AT 0810 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A PIPER, PA32, SARATOGA, N4303P, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE FOLLOWING A COLLISION WITH A TREE WHILE LANDING ON A GRAVEL ROAD AFTER HAVING LOST ENGINE POWER IN FLIGHT.  THE ACCIDENT TOOK PLACE NEAR THE TOWN OF LOOGOOTEE, INDIANA APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF FROM HUNTINGBURG AIRPORT (HNB).

THE PILOT AND HIS PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS REGISTERED TO THE PILOT AND WAS BEING OPERATED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 AS A PERSONAL FLIGHT. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED OR REQUIRED.

THE PILOT STATED THAT ABOUT 10 MINUTES AFTER TAKEOFF FROM HNB AND AT ABOUT 3000 FEET THAT THEY EXPERIENCED LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE ENGINE DID NOT STOP COMPLETELY BUT WOULD NOT ACCELERATE BEYOND IDLE. THE PILOT DETERMINED THAT THEY WERE TOO FAR FROM AN AIRPORT AND ELECTED A GRAVEL ROADWAY TO LAND AS THE FIELDS WERE SOFT FROM RAIN.  THE PASSENGER (ALSO AN FAA CERTIFICATED PILOT) ACCOMPLISHED THE EMERGENCY LOSS OF POWER PROCEDURES, BUT THE ENGINE WOULD NOT RUN BEYOND IDLE.

UPON LANDING ON THE GRAVEL ROAD, BEFORE THE PILOT WAS ABLE TO STOP THE AIRCRAFT, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A TREE WITH ITS LEFT WING SPINNING THE AIRCRAFT TO THE LEFT AND NOSING IT INTO A DITCH. DAMAGE TO THE BLADE TIPS GIVE INDICATION THAT THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING AT THE TIME IT LANDED.  ONE BLADE WAS BENT AFT WARD, CONSISTENT WITH THE AIRCRAFT NOSING INTO THE DITCH.

## 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 CEN22LA186](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22LA186), Apr 30, 2022: Piper PA32R (N4303P), Loogootee, IN, substantial damage. Probable cause: The inadequate maintenance and subsequent failure of an internal component in the fuel servo that prevented adequate fuel flow to the engine, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power.

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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