# NTSB CEN22LA186: Piper PA32R, N4303P, Loogootee, IN, April 30, 2022 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: April 30, 2022, 08:10 local (12:10 UTC) - Place: Loogootee, IN - Coordinates: 38.715695, -86.912818 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.7157&lon=-86.9128&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/330) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 105024 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN22LA186 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/105024/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105024 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22LA186 ## 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. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fuel system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022800): Aircraft › Aircraft systems · Not serviced/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Piper PA-32R-301, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022800/cases.md?model=7103218), [All aircraft, 181 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01022800/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/330) (defining event); cases with it: [Piper PA-32R-301, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/330/sequence.md?model=7103218), [All aircraft, 994 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/330/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that about 10 minutes after departure the engine sustained a partial loss of power. During the forced landing to a gravel road, the airplane’s left wing contacted a tree, which resulted in substantial damage. A postaccident engine test run was performed, and the engine would not produce rated power, so the fuel servo was removed for testing. Functional testing and examination of the fuel servo revealed that it would not deliver fuel to rated specifications due to a self-locking nut being stuck inside the top section of the plug. This resulted in the head idle spring not properly allowing fuel to flow through the ball valve. The engine and fuel servo had both surpassed the manufacturers’ established time between overhauls by 572 hours. ## Factual narrative On April 30, 2022, about 0810 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32R-301 airplane, N4303P, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Loogootee, Indiana. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot reported that he and a passenger departed Huntingburg Airport (HNB), Huntingburg, Indiana, and were en route to Putnam County Regional Airport (GPC), Greencastle, Indiana. About 10 minutes after departure, while in cruise flight at 3,000 ft mean sea level, the engine lost partial power. The pilot performed a forced landing to a gravel road. During the landing, the airplane’s left wing contacted a tree resulting in substantial damage. The airplane was transported to a recovery facility for further examination. After the airplane was recovered, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector examined the engine and could not find any anomalies with the engine. An engine functional test run was conducted, and full engine rpm could not be achieved. The fuel servo and fuel flow divider were removed and sent for further examination. Testing of the fuel servo found that it could not deliver more than 22 pounds per hour of fuel, which was less than the rated specifications. Disassembly discovered that the self-locking nut (p/n 2539449) was stuck inside the top section of the plug. This resulted in the head idle spring not properly allowing fuel to flow through the ball valve. The FAA inspector was informed by the mechanic that the fuel servo was overhauled at the same time as the engine, in March 2002, at a total time of 2,011.1 hours. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accrued 4,383.3 hours. Precision Airmotive Service Bulletin PRS-97 revision 2, dated November 22, 2013, established the time between overhaul for all designated fuel system components to be the same as the engine manufacturer or 12 years, whichever occurred first. Lycoming established a time between overhaul of 1,800 hours. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4303P](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4303P), registered now, S/N 32R-8313020 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER PA32R (301) - Registry model: [Piper PA-32R-301](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-32r-301) (registry code 7103218) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 32R-8313020 - Year built: 1983 - Airframe hours: 4374.5 - Engines: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D 300 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Hebeisen Richard - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, March 7, 2022, 8.4 hours before - Departed: HNB, Huntingburg, IN - Destination: GPC, Greencastle, IN - Equipment: Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 80; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review June 15, 2021; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 2,984 total, 2,500 in this make and model, 14 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 150° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 4,800 ft broken - Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 57 °F - Altimeter: 29.92 inHg - Observed at: KDCY, 10 nm away - METAR: KDCY 301215Z AUTO 15007KT 10SM BKN048 18/14 A2992 RMK AO2 T01760135 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20220430011379A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220430011379A), Apr 30, 2022: Piper PA-32R-301, Loogootee, IN, Substantial damage. 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… ## Docket (7 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 13, 2024, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105024. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 11 pages, 5.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16715025&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Form%206120%20CEN22LA186__Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 2, PDF, 3 pages, 2 photos): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16716615&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photos%202-Rel.pdf - Maintenance logbook entries (item 3, PDF, 2 pages, 2 photos, 407 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16715629&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Log%20Entries_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Overhaul service bulletins (item 4, PDF, 6 pages, 69 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16716214&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Overhaul%20Documents-Rel.pdf - Record of conversation FAA engine exam and run (item 5, PDF, 3 pages, 96 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16715991&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ROC%20FAA-Rel.pdf - Record of conversation FAA fuel servo examination (item 6, PDF, 1 page, 63 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16731252&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ROC%20FAA%202-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 7, PDF, 1 page, 3.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16732123&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Scan0070_Redacted-Rel.pdf 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. --- 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.