- Date
- October 2, 1992, 08:45 local (13:45 UTC)
- Place
- Aliceville, AL
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8548PPiper PA-24-260
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 21, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921002039999A
- Case key
- 8686
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
Maintenance personnel's failure to properly secure the fuel line from the fuel pump to the fuel injector during the engine installation, which resulted in a complete engine failure.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, he completed a preflight inspection and did not notice any problems with the airplane. The takeoff and climb to 5500 feet were reported as normal, but 30 minutes into the flight the pilot experienced a complete loss of engine power. The emergency procedure to restore engine power failed, therefore the pilot established an emergency descent for a forced landing. The airplane sustained substantial damage during the forced landing. Examination of the airplane disclosed that the fuel line between the fuel pump and fuel injector had separated at the fuel injector. The maintenance log review disclosed that the airplane had undergone a 100 hour inspection and an engine installation 5 hours prior to the accident. No other maintenance problems were noted during the examination.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8548P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-260
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-4005
- Airframe hours
- 2,468
- Engine
- Lycoming I0-540-04A5, 260 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Pickering And Mckinney
- Registered owner
- Pickering And Mckinney
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 8, 1992 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- GTR · Columbus, MS
- Destination
- GNV · Gainesville, FL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 684 total · 19 in this make and model · 609 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GTR, 25 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.