History of Flight
On December 22, 2010, at about 0854 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28-151, registration N30ZZ, collided with trees and then the ground near Spencer Airport (60M), Spencer, Massachusetts. The flight was a personal flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 from Spencer Airport to Fitchburg Municipal Airport (FIT), Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and had originated approximately two minutes earlier. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The commercial certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was killed. The airplane sustained substantial damage.
No known eyewitnesses to the impact were identified. One individual located about 0.1 nautical mile east-northeast of the departure end of runway 01 reported hearing a loud sound consistent with an airplane taking off to the north, followed by a sound she associated with a backfire. She later drove to the crash site. Another witness, located east of the departure end, reported hearing three takeoff attempts to the north, and during a fourth attempt, the engine surged or sputtered twice before stopping, followed by a loud bang and crashing sound. A third witness, about 2,000 to 3,000 feet west of the airport, heard an aircraft depart with a normal engine sound, then the engine quit, followed by a long drawn-out boom. A fourth witness observed the crashed airplane while driving past the airport, called 911, and reported no vapor or visible fuel leaks but a faint odor of fuel and a rhythmic clicking sound from the engine area that stopped after several minutes.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 50, held commercial and certified flight instructor certificates with ratings for airplane single-engine land and sea and instrument airplane, and a flight instructor rating for airplane single-engine. He was issued a second-class medical certificate on November 9, 2010, with a limitation for near and intermediate vision. On that application, he reported 4,375 total flight hours. Review of his fourth pilot logbook, covering May 8, 1997, to June 20, 2009, showed 4,026.2 hours logged.
Aircraft Information
The airplane was a 1974 Piper PA-28-151, serial number 28-7515202, powered by a Lycoming O-320-E3D engine with a Sensenich fixed-pitch propeller. The engine was modified under Supplemental Type Certificate SE8967SW to increase takeoff power to 160 horsepower. The fuel system included two 25-gallon aluminum wing tanks (1 gallon unusable each), a three-position fuel selector valve, and a carbureted fuel system. The last annual inspection was on April 28, 2010, at a total time of about 3,037 hours. The hour meter at the accident site read 3,929.2.
Meteorological Information
A surface observation at Worcester Regional Airport (ORH), about 4 nautical miles and 304 degrees from the accident site, taken at 0854, reported wind from 330 degrees at 12 knots gusting to 22 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, clear skies, temperature -1°C, dew point -5°C, and altimeter setting 29.67 inHg.
Wreckage and Impact
The airplane came to rest inverted at the edge of a wooded area. The main wreckage (fuselage, right wing, right horizontal stabilator, engine) was located at 42°17'42"N, 071°57'53"W. The left wing and left horizontal stabilator were separated but nearby. The outer left wing was in a tree about 65 feet above ground, about 90 feet from the main wreckage. Tree scarring was found about 850 feet from the departure end of runway 01. Wing flaps were retracted. Fuel tanks were breached; the left tank had no fuel, the right tank contained about 4 ounces of blue fuel (100LL) with no water. The fuel selector was in the right tank position. Throttle and mixture were full forward, carburetor heat off, magneto switch off, key bent, primer in and locked, auxiliary fuel pump on. Flight control continuity was confirmed except left aileron cable separated in tension. Engine examination showed no preimpact anomalies; spark plugs appeared normal, carburetor had no icing or obstruction, engine-driven and auxiliary fuel pumps operated normally. Propeller blades displayed aft bending and twisting consistent with impact.
Medical and Pathological Information
A postmortem examination attributed the pilot's death to blunt force trauma. Toxicology tests for carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol, and drugs were negative. The pilot's wife reported he had experienced heartburn and difficulty swallowing the Friday before the accident.
Tests and Research
Review of the airplane's flight log showed the last recorded flight (November 2, 2010) ended with hour meter 3,929.1, flown by a pilot with initials “RB.” That private pilot reported that before and after the roundtrip flight, he did not visually inspect fuel tanks but relied on gauges, which indicated low fuel during the return. The roundtrip duration was about 2 hours 50 minutes. The accident flight hour meter reading was 3,929.2, indicating only 0.1 hour of operation after that last flight (including taxi and run-up). No fuel purchases for N30ZZ after that date were recorded. Postaccident, the fire chief reported fuel leakage from the right wing at a rate comparable to a barely cracked faucet, but the quantity of fuel onboard at impact could not be determined.