N31407

On September 30, 2024, about 1630 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-32-300 airplane, N31407, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Caro, Michigan. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 maintenance flight.

According to the pilot, the airplane had just completed a two-year maintenance event to Inspect, Repair as Necessary (IRAN) the Lycoming IO-540-K1G5 reciprocating engine. During the IRAN, the engine crankcase was repaired due to a bearing failure, magnetos overhauled, and the fuel injection servo was replaced twice.

On the day of the accident, the pilot’s mechanic had informed him that he needed to complete about five hours of flight time so the mechanic could inspect and fix any maintenance issues. The pilot stated that the takeoff and climb into the downwind leg was normal and that he was going to complete a traffic pattern back to Runway 6. During the downwind leg before reducing engine power to near idle and starting a decent, he noticed that the fuel flow indicator reading had dropped from 18 to 14 gallons-per-hour. The pilot stated there were no further abnormal indications from the engine until he tried to increase engine power on an extended two-mile final approach to runway 6. The engine did not respond to engine throttle control movements and the airplane subsequently had a complete loss of engine power. The pilot realized that he would not make the runway due to the distance and performed a forced off field landing.

During the forced landing, the pilot dove the airplane to gain airspeed to clear a tree line on the approach end of runway 6. The pilot stated that he held the airplane at the stall horn to clear the trees and hit the ground hard. The airplane bounced, the left main landing gear separated, and the airplane impacted the ground a second time a few hundred feet later. The airplane then slid and came to rest in a ditch abeam the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right horizontal stabilizer and both wings.

The wreckage was retained for further examination.