Accident Flight
On July 19, 2013, at about 1200 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28RT-201T, registration N31698, impacted high vegetation during a forced landing following a loss of engine power during climbout from Brewster Field Airport (HDE), near Holdrege, Nebraska. The pilot, the sole occupant, was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial wing damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by Altitude LLC under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual flight rules (VFR) conditions prevailed, and the flight did not operate on a VFR flight plan. The flight was originating from HDE and destined for Mark Hoard Memorial Airport, near Leoti, Kansas.
The pilot reported taking off from runway 36. The takeoff and climbout were normal. The pilot banked the airplane left and made a straight westerly track along the north side of the nearby town. At about 700 to 1,000 feet above ground level, he felt a complete power loss. The propeller and engine were still turning but not generating power. The pilot lowered the airplane's nose and applied full forward throttle. The mixture was already full forward, and he turned on the electric fuel pump. There was no change in engine performance. He switched from the right fuel tank to the left tank with no change. The pilot tried left magneto, then right magneto, and switched back to both magnetos; no engine changes occurred. He could only hear intermittent backfire noise from the engine.
While troubleshooting, the pilot banked back toward the airport but did not have enough altitude to reach it. He spotted a trail road and did not lower the landing gear until assured of reaching the road. The landing gear was down and locked with three green lights just before touchdown. As the airplane rolled out onto the trail road, the pilot steered right to avoid a large pipe. The right wing began contacting corn stalks, which pulled the airplane into a cornfield, where it came to rest.
Engine and Fuel System Details
The airplane was equipped with an optional engine primer system. According to the airplane's maintenance manual, the primer system includes a spring-loaded OFF primer button switch on the instrument panel, used to select HI auxiliary fuel pump operation for priming. The primer button may be used for hot or cold engine starts. On airplanes with this system, the primer switch location and actuation are the same as the basic airplane, but it provides a separate primer system as an integral part of the engine fuel system. An electrically operated diverter valve is located in the metered fuel supply line between the air throttle valve and the manifold valve. Other components include two primer nozzles in the intake manifold on each side of the engine, interconnecting fuel lines, and fine wire spark plugs. Actuation of the engine primer switch operates the auxiliary electric fuel pump on HI and energizes the diverter valve, which supplies fuel to each primer nozzle. The diverter valve does not shut off all fuel flow to the manifold valve; some fuel is still supplied to each cylinder nozzle during priming. Operation of the auxiliary fuel pump on HI and LO is unchanged.
The airplane was equipped with a JPI EDM 800 engine monitor. The monitor was shipped to the National Transportation Safety Board Recorder Laboratory for data download. The downloaded data revealed that about two minutes after takeoff, the fuel flow decreased from about 18 gallons per hour to about two gallons per hour. Exhaust gas temperatures and cylinder head temperatures for each cylinder decreased rapidly, except for the number five and number six cylinders, which decreased slower. These two cylinders were located on opposite sides of the intake manifold.
Post-Accident Examination
A safety representative from the engine manufacturer examined the wreckage under Federal Aviation Administration supervision. When the battery was reconnected and the electric fuel pump selector was in the off position, the electric fuel pump activated. The engine started but did not run smoothly. The engine, a Teledyne Continental Motors TSIO-360-FB(3) with serial number 281142-R, was removed from the airplane and shipped to the manufacturer for a test cell run. Under supervision of the investigator in charge, the engine was operational during the test run. The engine was run again with the diverter valve electrically actuated. Subsequently, the engine ran roughly, produced little power, and backfired once the diverter valve was actuated.
The panel-mounted primer switch was examined and did not exhibit any shorting between its leads.
The airplane's pilot operating handbook emergency procedures stated, in part: "If the auxiliary fuel pump switch or primer switch fails causing the auxiliary fuel pump to be activated in the HI mode while the engine driven fuel pump is operating normally, engine roughness and/or power loss could occur. Should this condition exist; pull out the fuel pump pull-type circuit breaker, if so equipped or shut off the master switch."