What happened
On October 15, 2012, a Piper PA-34-200, operating under Canadian registration C-GNAS, was involved in an accident near Victoriaville, Quebec. The aircraft, owned and operated by Nadeau Air Service, was conducting a non-scheduled local training flight that had departed from Trois-Rivieres, Canada.
While performing a missed approach segment of an RNAV approach at 2,100 feet, the right engine suffered a catastrophic failure and ignited a fire. During the emergency, dense smoke entered the cabin. The co-pilot declared an emergency and communicated intentions to land. The aircraft subsequently struck the ground in a field approximately two nautical miles east of Victoriaville Airport, coming to rest in an inverted position. The accident resulted in 2 serious injuries and 0 fatalities.
The investigation
A post-accident examination of the right engine revealed that the number two cylinder had separated during flight, which caused the fire. Investigators found that the through bolts and hold down studs for the number two cylinder exhibited signs of fatigue failure.