ERA18LA021

The pilot stated that, about 45 minutes after departure, he felt a subtle vibration in the engine. A few minutes later, the propeller rpm increased uncommanded to 2,700 rpm and remained "pegged at the redline." The pilot was unable to control the rpm and the vibration increased, followed by smoke in the cabin and a loss of engine power; the pilot subsequently performed a forced landing, impacted a pole and guardrail, and the left wing and horizontal stabilator separated. Postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the propeller governor control arm had disconnected from the propeller governor. It is likely that during maintenance conducted 5 months before the accident, the linkage was not properly secured, and the bolt eventually backed out of the propeller control arm, which resulted in the separation; however this would not have directly resulted in the loss of engine power. The examination of the airframe and engine was otherwise unable to identify a definitive cause for the loss of engine power.

On November 10, 2017, about 1520 eastern standard time, a Socata TB200, N207GT, operated by Tipton Tampico LLC, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Annapolis, Maryland. The commercial pilot and the two passengers were not injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Tipton Airport (FME), Fort Meade, Maryland, about 1430. The pilot was conducting a sightseeing flight with his two children around the eastern shore of Maryland. About 45 minutes after departure, the airplane was at an altitude of 1,500 ft and about 25 miles southeast of FME, when the pilot felt a very light and subtle vibration from the engine. Shortly thereafter, the propeller rpm increased to 2,700 rpm uncommanded and remained "pegged at the redline." The pilot followed the emergency checklist and reduced engine power to remain below redline rpm, but it had little effect. The airplane was 11 miles southeast of FME when the engine vibration increased, and the cockpit started filling-up with smoke, so he diverted to Lee Airport (ANP) Annapolis, Maryland. The pilot reported that the engine gauges were all "indicating green" during this time, but once the situation started deteriorating rapidly, he focused on flying the airplane and did not recall reading the gauges again. Immediately after turning south towards ANP at around 1,400 feet, the engine experienced a total loss of power. The pilot realized that the airplane would not be able reach the airport and he made a forced landing on a road. The airplane struck a light pole, spun around, and impacted a guardrail before coming to rest. The impact sheared off the left wing and the horizontal stabilator. The engine remained attached to the fuselage but separated from the top engine mounts and came to rest in a vertical, nose down position. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed the propeller governor linkage was not connected to the propeller governor. The bolt and cotter key that is needed to secure the linkage to the propeller governor was missing. Further examination of the engine revealed that the fuel filter contained some debris, but it was not obstructed. No other mechanical deficiencies were found with the fuel system or engine that would have precluded normal operation of the engine. A review of the engine's maintenance logbook revealed that five months before the accident, on June 24, 2017, the propeller assembly was removed and reinstalled for a starter ring gear, alternator belt and crankshaft seal replacement. The engine's last annual inspection was conducted on October 24, 2017, at a total time of 1,496.53 hours. During that inspection, no anomalies were identified and logged. The airplane and engine then accrued about 13 hours since the annual inspection at the time of the accident. The pilot held a commercial pilotcertificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land instrument airplane and powered lift, instrument airplane. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second-class medical certificate was issued on June 13, 2017. The pilot reported 730 total hours of flight experience, with 13 hours in the accident airplane make and model. The weather conditions reported at FME, 12-miles northeast of the accident site, at 1524, included wind from 350° at 12 knots gusting to 17 knots, visibility 10 miles, clear skies, temperature 3° C, dew point -9° C, and an altimeter setting of 30.38 inches of mercury.