- Date
- July 4, 1989, 05:00 local (10:00 UTC)
- Place
- Excelsor Sprgs, MO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4175RPiper PA-32-300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890704022319A
- Case key
- 34826
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 catastrophic failure of the aircraft engine and the pilots failure to maintain directional control of the aircraft during the landing roll. Improper maintenance, the dark night conditions, and restricted visibility due to oil on the windscreen were contributing factors.
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 had departed the dupage arpt, chicago, IL enroute to Kansas city dtwn arpt. During descent from crz altitude the plt said oil covered the windscreen and engine power was lost. The pilot attempted a night forced landing at an airport located about 45 miles northeast of the destination. Directional control of the acft was lost during the landing roll. The acft careened off the hard surfaced rwy into rough and uneven terrain which tore a wing from its attach point. Post accident exam of the acft and its records showed that it had not been properly inspected and was not airworthy for this flight. The engine failed in what appeared to be a failure indicative of a connecting rod, rod end or rod bolt failure with a resultant hole in the engine case.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4175R
- Reported as
- Piper PA-32-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 32-40498
- Airframe hours
- 4,899
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-K1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- David E. Gardner
- Registered owner
- B.L. Schooley Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 11, 1989 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- DPA · Chicago, IL
- Destination
- MKC · Kansas City, MO
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- 3EX · Excelsior Spgs, runway 19, 2,005 × 50 ft, asphalt
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 6,000 total · 58 in this make and model · 5,800 as pilot in command · 300 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N4175R · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.