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20251031015929I

Incident · Minor damage
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FAA incident report · Piper PA-31-350 · Cincinnati, OH · October 31, 2025

FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal

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Date
October 31, 2025 · 16:46 local
Place
Cincinnati, OH
Airport
Lunken Airport
Phase of flight
Descent
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N13CA
Reported as
Piper PA-31-350
Reported engine
Lycoming TI0-540 series
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
N13CARegistered now · Piper PA-31-350S/N 31-7405411 · Built 1974Airframe modelPiper PA-31-350Engine modelLycoming TI0-540 seriesTurbo-prop

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry 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.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

The pilot reported that while descending to land at Lunken Airport, the right engine cowling popped open suddenly creating excessive drag on the right side and vibration. The pilot declared an emergency and landed the airplane at Lunken without further incident. The inboard side of the right engine cowling was found to be separated, and the top forward composite sections of the cowling were missing. The outboard fasteners of the top right engine cowling remained attached, and the top cowling became highly deformed in flight.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHILE DESCENDING TO LAND AT LUNKEN AIRPORT, THE RIGHT ENGINE COWLING POPPED OPEN SUDDENLY CREATING EXCESSIVE DRAG ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND VIBRATION. THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND LANDED THE AIRPLANE AT LUNKEN WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. THE INBOARD SIDE OF THE RIGHT ENGINE COWLING WAS FOUND TO BE SEPARATED, AND THE TOP FORWARD COMPOSITE SECTIONS OF THE COWLING WERE MISSING. THE OUTBOARD FASTENERS OF THE TOP RIGHT ENGINE COWLING REMAINED ATTACHED, AND THE TOP COWLING BECAME HIGHLY DEFORMED IN FLIGHT.