- Date
- May 21, 1982, 08:12 local (13:12 UTC)
- Place
- Salina, KS
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N40NCPiper PA-31P
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 21, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820521018109A
- Case key
- 72463
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
According to the pilot, the left engine began running rough at about 300 ft AGL after takeoff and the roughness was accompanied by a slight left yaw. The pilot said the left engine was producing some power so he elected not to feather the propeller. The aircraft would not maintain altitude; therefore, the pilot elected to make a gear-up landing in a wheat field. An investigation revealed the plane had been involved in a previous gear-up landing and had accumulated 420 hours since then. An examination of the left engine revealed that the propeller would rotate freely without rotation of the crankshaft. Examination revealed that the spline bushing, pn 75462, turned freely in the front of the crankshaft, and the three dowels, pn 75359, were not in place. The bushing, which is pressed into the crankshaft during assembly, was loose enough to permit removal by hand. The dowels were found in the engine oil sump and were bent and deformed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N40NC
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31P
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31P-49
- Airframe hours
- 1,929
- Engine
- Lycoming TIGO-541-E1A, 425 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Executive/Corporate · Part 91
- Operator
- James D. Nelson
- Registered owner
- James D. Nelson
- Departed
- Salina, KS
- Destination
- Dallas, TX
- Airport
- Salina Muni, runway 17, 13,330 × 300 ft, concrete
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
- 42
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane, Helicopter
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 7,192 total · 28 in this make and model · 6,541 as pilot in command · 62 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 133 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SLN, 8 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.