Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s loss of control of the airplane for reasons that could not be undetermined because a postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On June 20, 2013, about 0930 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-30 airplane, N7017Y, performed a forced landing at the James M Cox Dayton International airport (KDAY) Dayton, Ohio. The private rated pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered Horizon Aviation LLC, Tipp City, Ohio and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight which operated without a flight plan. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot reported that during the preflight he found a small amount of water in the right main inboard fuel tank. He checked the other fuel tanks and did not find any water. He rechecked the right main inboard tank again and did not observe any water. He reported that during engine start the right engine stopped, he restarted the engine, and he had to run the right engine's rpm slightly higher during warm up. He added that during the taxi to the runway and during the run-up, the engines performed without hesitation and he did not observe any problems.
That pilot stated that the departure roll seemed "sluggish". The airplane started to drift right; he was unable to correct the drift by applying the rudder, so reduced the throttles back to idle. He then elected to conduct a force landing on a closed taxiway, so he added power, in order to reach the taxiway. However, the airplane landed short of the taxiway and impacted a bump in the terrain.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that the airplane's nose and main landing gear had collapsed, the right wing, and the fuselage had sustained substantial damage. Examination of the airplane's engines revealed the fuel servo on the right engine had separated from the engine's intake. Examination of the servo revealed that the facture was consistent with impact damage. The examination did not reveal any abnormalities that would have prevented the engines from producing power.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN13LA361