- Date
- April 22, 1990, 18:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Bad Axe, MI
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6369WPiper PA28-140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900422015439A
- Case key
- 14666
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
Total failure of the powerplant during the final approach for undetermined reasons.
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
The pilot stated that while on final approach at about 200 to 300 feet above the ground, the aircraft engine began to lose power. The aircraft touched down on the edge of a ditch on airport property, short of the landing runway. Post-accident examination of the aircraft engine and systems revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunction, and an engine run-up was successful. The pilot stated that he 'probably could have got it restarted...but I only had 200 feet of altitude. I pumped the throttle and that probably just made it worse...(I should have) just left it wide open, it might have restarted.' He reported that he had flown the aircraft 1.5 hours since he purchased it; prior to that it had not flown for about a year. He also stated that the previous owner had automotive fuel in the fuel system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6369W
- Reported as
- Piper PA28-140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-20429
- Airframe hours
- 1,782
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E2A, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Engler, Alan W.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 20, 1990 · 2 hours before
- Airport
- 76D · Huron County Memorial, runway 21, 3,500 × 75 ft
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
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 13,753 total · 900 in this make and model · 13,532 as pilot in command · 55 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.