On September 19, 2014, about 1900 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-36-285 airplane, N9913P, sustained substantial damage during a runway excursion following a loss of engine power on takeoff from Steinman Airport (53II), Woodburn, Indiana. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Gaerte Ag Service LLC under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was not operated on a flight plan. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.The pilot reported that the engine lost power during the takeoff roll and he was unable to stop the airplane on the remaining runway. The airplane subsequently encountered an embankment and a roadway off the end of the runway, before coming to rest in an adjacent corn field. Upon exiting the airplane, he smelled fuel and subsequently set the fuel control cutoff valve to the Off position.
The airplane came to rest upright in the corn field about 260 feet from the end of the runway. Depressions in the grass and skid marks across the roadway pavement were consistent with the airplane being on the ground as it departed the end of the runway. A set of power lines running along the south side of the roadway were undamaged. The tops of the corn plants adjacent to the roadway appeared have been impacted; however, the remainder of the plants appeared to be undamaged. The proximity of the power lines to the end of the runway and the presence of the skid marks suggested that the airplane traveled under the power lines, while becoming airborne for a short period of time as it crossed the road allowing it to clear a portion of the corn crop.
A flight activity log submitted by the pilot indicated that the accident flight was the 23rd flight of the day. The airplane was refueled before the 17th flight of the day and departed for that flight with 60 gallons fuel on board. According to the log, the recording tachometer indicated 2,976.8 hours at that time. The pilot reported that the recording tachometer subsequently indicated 2,978.2 hours after the accident. He noted that the normal fuel burn was about 25 gallons per hour.
The pilot stated that the day after the accident he observed about 30 gallons of fuel in the right wing fuel tank. No fuel was visible in the left wing fuel tank. He speculated that the right wing fuel tank might have had some type of obstruction that resulted in fuel starvation on the accident takeoff.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was notified of the accident on September 23rd, and a postaccident examination was initiated by FAA inspectors the following day. The examination revealed that the main landing gear had collapsed and the firewall was deformed. The engine cowling was dislocated; however, the engine and engine mount remained secured to the firewall. At the time of the examination, approximately 2 gallons of fuel were recovered from the right wing fuel tank and no fuel was recovered from the left wing fuel tank. At the time of recovery of the airplane, about 6 weeks after the accident, fuel was placed in the right fuel tank and positive fuel flow was observed at engine. The fuel tank inlet strainers were removed; they were clear and unobstructed. The engine rotated freely and compression was obtained at each cylinder. The spark plugs exhibited normal operating signatures.
The engine was removed and subjected to a test run. The engine ran to 2,650 rpm and 29 inches manifold pressure on the left magneto only. A representative of the engine test facility noted that the engine also ran when both magnetos were selected. However, the engine did not run normally on the right magneto only.
The magnetos were bench tested under the direct supervision of the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge. Each magneto produced a spark across all leads. A teardown examination of the right magneto revealed that the distributor bushing was worn allowing excessive play between the distributor gear and the block. The contacts exhibited excessive wear consistent with the worn bushing and metallic deposits were observed within the magneto housing.
Maintenance records indicated that an overhaul of the engine and both magnetos was completed in February 2014. The most recent annual inspection was completed on May 16, 2014, after installation of the overhauled engine. At the time of the annual inspection, the airframe and engine total service times were 3,347.7 hours and 2,683.7 hours, respectively. According to the records, the left magneto was replaced on September 16, 2014, at a recording tachometer time of 2,959.0 hours (275.3 hours since overhaul). The maintenance logbook did not contain any entries related to the right magneto subsequent to the overhaul. The recording tachometer indicated 2,978.2 hours at the time of the postaccident examination.