Accident
On January 12, 2013, at approximately 1500 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-28R-180, registration N3898T, operated by Flight School of Gwinnett Inc., was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a bog following a total loss of engine power. The aircraft was on approach to Barrow County Airport (WDR) in Winder, Georgia. The flight instructor, a private pilot, and a passenger were not injured. The instructional flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 in visual meteorological conditions; no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Gwinnett County Airport (LZU) in Lawrenceville, Georgia, about 1430.
The flight instructor reported that the airplane was in the traffic pattern at WDR on a left downwind leg for landing on runway 23. During the Before Landing checklist, the private pilot turned the fuel pump on and positioned the fuel selector to the fullest tank (right). The engine then ran rough and lost all power. The instructor took control, verified that the fuel pump was on, the mixture was rich, and the landing gear was down. He attempted to glide to runway 31 but could not align the airplane; it traveled off the right side of the runway and entered a bog.
Aircraft
The Piper PA-28R-180 was manufactured in 1967 and equipped with a Lycoming IO-360-B1E, 180-horsepower engine. The most recent annual inspection was completed on November 7, 2012. At that time, the engine had accumulated approximately 1,578 hours since its last overhaul in 1997. The airplane had been operated for about 15 hours since that inspection. The engine manufacturer recommended an overhaul every 2,000 hours or 12 years, whichever occurred first.
Investigation
Examination by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed substantial damage to the right wing. The inspector noted adequate fuel in both fuel tanks. The engine was started with the fuel selector positioned to the right tank; it ran for about 10 seconds then lost all power again. After the wreckage was recovered from the bog, further examination showed that when the engine ran briefly, fuel leaked from the inlet side of the engine-driven fuel pump. Inspection of the pump revealed that the fuel pump line fitting O-ring seal was cracked. The FAA inspector added that the cracked O-ring might not be detected during an annual inspection unless it was leaking fuel at that time.