- Date
- November 23, 2005, 13:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bixby, OK
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N859DAPiper PA-23-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Oklahoma City, OK
- FAA report
- 20051123028819A
- Case key
- 62884
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
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The loss of engine power due to water contamination and corrosion in both gascolators due to improper maintenance. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Analysis
After a detailed preflight inspection and a 15-minute run up, the 1,684-hour commercial pilot and a pilot-rated passenger, who had recently purchased the twin-engine airplane, departed on a 385-nautical mile cross-country flight to ferry the airplane to it's new home base. About 25 minutes into the flight, while in cruise flight at 2,500 feet, the left engine lost power. The pilot elected not to secure the left engine as he felt that the engine was producing some power; however, he elected to return to the departure airport. En-route back to the airport, the right engine also experienced a partial loss of power. The pilot was unable maintain altitude and selected a nearby hay field to execute a forced landing. The pilot was able to clear some powerlines short of his intended forced landing area, and made a normal landing on the hay field. During the landing roll on the hay field, the airplane impacted a 2-foot berm/terrace in the field, collapsing the nose landing gear assembly. Examination of the airplane revealed that fuel was present in the fuel tanks; however, water and corrosion were found in both left and right side gascolators.
Factual narrative
After a detailed preflight inspection and a 15-minute run up, the 1,684-hour commercial pilot and a pilot-rated passenger, who had recently purchased the twin-engine airplane, departed on a 385-nautical mile cross-country flight to ferry the airplane to its new home base. About 25 minutes into the flight, while in cruise flight at 2,500 feet, the left engine lost power. The pilot elected not to secure the left engine as he felt that the engine was producing some power; however, he elected to return to the departure airport. En-route to the airport, the right engine also experienced a partial loss of power. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and selected a nearby hay field to execute a forced landing. The pilot was able to clear some powerlines short of his intended forced landing area, and made a normal landing on the hay field. During the landing roll on the hay field, the airplane impacted a 2-foot berm/terrace in the field, collapsing the nose landing gear assembly. Examination of the airplane revealed that fuel was present in the fuel tanks; however, water and corrosion were found in both left and right side gascolators.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N859DA
- Reported as
- Piper PA-23-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 27-7305198
- Airframe hours
- 9,035.6
- Engines
- Lycoming IO540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming IO540-C4B5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2005
- Departed
- RVS · Tulsa, OK
- Destination
- 1R7 · Brookhaven, MS
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- RVS · Richard Lloyd Jones Jr
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,684 total · 100 in this make and model
- Role
- Co-pilot
- Age
- 37
- Injuries
- None
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2004
- Seat
- Right
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.79 inHg
- Observed at
- RVS, 12 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.