Accident Details
On September 9, 2010, at 1251 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-28-161, registration N3560B, collided with terrain during an off-airport forced landing following a loss of engine power near Buchanan, Michigan. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was operated by Donnair Aviation and was conducting a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The last leg of the flight originated from Dowagiac Municipal Airport (C91), Dowagiac, Michigan, at 1242.
Pilot Account
The pilot reported departing Valparaiso, Indiana, and flying to C91 where he executed a touch-and-go landing. He then climbed to an altitude of 3,000 feet above mean sea level for the return flight to Valparaiso. The pilot stated he turned the fuel pump on, switched fuel tanks, and turned the fuel pump back off. About 11 minutes later, the engine lost all power and the propeller stopped rotating. The pilot performed an off-airport forced landing in a corn field. During the landing, the nose gear was pushed back into the firewall and the right wing was pulled away from the fuselage.
Aircraft and Engine Information
The airplane was equipped with a Lycoming O-320-D3G engine, serial number L-8748-39A. The engine was overhauled in September 2005 and had accumulated 1,637 hours since the overhaul. The total time on the engine was 6,987.9 hours. Reconditioned lifters were installed on the airplane during the engine overhaul.
Postaccident Inspection
A postaccident inspection of the engine revealed that the head of the #4 cylinder exhaust valve lifter was separated from the lifter body. The fractured surface of the lifter body was completely smeared from impact damage. The heads on the #3 cylinder intake valve lifter, the #4 cylinder intake valve lifter, and the #4 cylinder exhaust valve lifter were all fractured, with a portion of the head separated. Six pieces of the separated sections from the valve lifter heads were found inside the crankcase. The fractured surfaces, when examined by the investigator in charge under a 10X magnifier, did not show any indications of fatigue.