- Date
- August 12, 1987, 17:20 local (22:20 UTC)
- Place
- Mexia, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8159SPiper PA-32R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 22268
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 plt noticed smoke in the cockpit & started to make a precautionary lndg at Mexia, TX, which was nearby. However, drg the dscnt to lnd, the smoke dissipated, so he elected to cont to the destn. Drg the climb back to alt, smoke reappeared & was followed by loss of eng power. The plt then tried to make a forced lndg at Mexia; however, there was insufficient alt to reach the arpt. While lndg about 1 mi from the arpt, the acft rolled thru a barbed wire fence & was damaged. An exam of the acft revealed a retaining nut was missing from a clamp near 2 mating surfaces of the exhaustsys near the #6 cylinder. Subsequently, gases from the exhaust sys burned thru a vacuum hose & extensively burned a number of wires in the ignition sys. The acft had been flown 176 hrs since the last eng & airframe inspn.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8159S
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32R8029059
- Airframe hours
- 2,172
- Engine
- Lycoming TIO-540-S1AD, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Texas Partners Flying Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 1986 · 176 hours before
- Departed
- HOU · Houston, TX
- Destination
- DAL · Dallas, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 22
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,615 total · 40 in this make and model · 1,500 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 99 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FTW, 88 nm away