ERA23LA354

About 40 minutes into the flight, while operating at 4,500 ft mean sea level (msl), the engine began to run “rough” and suddenly stopped producing power. The pilot immediately turned to a nearby airport that was only a few miles away. The propeller continued to windmill, but after troubleshooting he was unable to restart the engine; he began a left, spiraling descent to the runway. He misjudged the winds, and his speed and altitude were insufficient to land safely on the runway. He performed a forced landing short of the runway in dense brush, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. Postaccident examination of the engine and associated systems revealed no preimpact malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation and the reason for the loss of engine power could not be determined.

On August 18, 2023, about 1750 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300, N405WB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Fishers Island, New York. The commercial pilot and two passengers were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 on-demand charter flight. According to the pilot, the flight was enroute from Martha's Vineyard Airport (MVY), Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, to Montauk Airport (MTP), Montauk, New York, about a 70-nm flight along the southern coast of Connecticut. While cruising at an altitude of 4,500 ft msl, about 40 minutes into the flight, the engine started running “rough” for several seconds and then suddenly lost power. The pilot’s attempts to regain engine power were unsuccessful. The airplane had just passed over Elizabeth Field Airport (0B8), Fishers Island, New York, so the pilot diverted toward 0B8. Once over the east end of the airport, he performed a spiraling descent to lose altitude. After reaching 1,000 ft msl while on the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern for runway 30, he turned to the base leg but misjudged the altitude and the winds, which prevented the airplane from reaching the runway. The pilot made a forced landing short of the runway on the edge of a beach covered with dense brush. Postaccident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the airframe and wings; the left landing gear had collapsed and there was buckling of the airframe. A subsequent examination revealed that all 3 propeller blades were bent slightly aft about the midspan point. The throttle, propeller, and mixture controls were actuated and they freely moved the cables and associated linkages to the engine. Compression and valvetrain continuity were established on each cylinder with corresponding compression achieved. Both magnetos were manually spun and there was normal firing of both magneto impulse couplings that produced spark at all the leads. All 12 spark plugs were noted to be in good condition. The fuel system, including the injectors, fuel flow manifold and selector revealed no anomalies. Fuel was present in the system, and it had the consistency and smell of 100 low-lead aviation fuel. The engine-driven fuel pump rotated freely with no binding or roughness noted. It showed some evidence of wear on the spline gear teeth and drive splines. The induction system was normal and the engine was well lubricated; there were 9 quarts of oil in the engine and the oil filter was examined, revealing no anomalies. Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.