- Date
- November 27, 1989, 17:26 local (23:26 UTC)
- Place
- Des Moines, IA
- Injuries
- 3 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N919SPiper PA-46P-350
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report August 14, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19891127047269A
- Case key
- 17810
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
Loss of engine power for undetermined reason(s). The light conditions (dusk) and trees in in the emergency landing area were considered to be contributing factors.
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 acft was on an ILS apch at dusk in IMC & icing conds with the alternate air on. According to the plt, he had just dscndd below an ovc, on final apch, when the eng lost pwr & would not respond to throttle application. A forced landing was made in a wooded area short of the rwy & the acft was extensively dmgd. Drg an exam of the eng, the turbocharger & wastegate transition pipes were fnd sepd at the flange. Carbonaceous residue was fnd in the area of sepn, but no heat damage was noted. The gasket, bolts, washers & self-locking nuts (for holding the pipes together) were not fnd. Later, the eng ran successfully drg an opnl check. Drg the investigation, 3 similar cases of pipe sepn were identified, which involved another acft; these resulted in only partial losses of pwr. The rgt front seat pax rprtd seeing a trace of ice on the wings as the acft was dscndg thru clouds. The pitot heat, stall warning heat, & ice light switch were fnd in the 'off' position. At 1650 CST, the temp & dew point at the surface were 36 & 35 deg, respectively.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N919S
- Reported as
- Piper PA-46P-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 46-22076
- Airframe hours
- 65
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Paramount Leasing Corporation, doing business as Iowa Periodicals, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Paramount Leasing Corporation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 22, 1989 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- OMA · Omaha, NE
- Destination
- DSM · Des Moines, IA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- DMS · Des Moines Intl, runway 30R, 9,001 × 150 ft, asphalt
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,278 total · 832 in this make and model · 2,123 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 27 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 310° at 12 knots, gusting 19
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 800 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DSM
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.