Accident Overview
On September 19, 2014, at approximately 1900 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-36-285 (registration N9913P) sustained substantial damage during a runway excursion following a loss of engine power during the takeoff roll at Steinman Airport (53II) in Woodburn, Indiana. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was operated by Gaerte Ag Service LLC under 14 CFR Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
Sequence of Events
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 upright in an adjacent corn field, approximately 260 feet from the runway end. Upon exiting, the pilot smelled fuel and set the fuel control cutoff valve to the Off position.
Depressions in the grass and skid marks across the roadway pavement indicated that the airplane was on the ground as it departed the runway. A set of power lines running along the south side of the roadway was undamaged. The tops of corn plants adjacent to the roadway appeared impacted, but the remainder of the plants were undamaged. The proximity of the power lines to the runway end and the presence of skid marks suggested that the airplane traveled under the power lines, briefly becoming airborne as it crossed the road, allowing it to clear a portion of the corn crop.
Aircraft and Maintenance Information
According to a flight activity log submitted by the pilot, the accident flight was the 23rd flight of the day. The airplane was refueled before the 17th flight with 60 gallons of fuel. The recording tachometer indicated 2,976.8 hours at the time of refueling and 2,978.2 hours after the accident. The pilot reported a normal fuel burn of about 25 gallons per hour.
The day after the accident, the pilot observed about 30 gallons of fuel in the right wing tank, but no fuel visible in the left wing tank. He speculated that the right wing tank might have had an obstruction causing fuel starvation. However, during the postaccident examination, approximately 2 gallons of fuel were recovered from the right tank, and none from the left. About six weeks after the accident, when the airplane was recovered, fuel placed in the right tank produced positive fuel flow at the engine, and the fuel tank inlet strainers were clear and unobstructed.
Maintenance records indicated that an overhaul of the engine and both magnetos was completed in February 2014. The most recent annual inspection was on May 16, 2014, after installation of the overhauled engine, at which time the airframe total time was 3,347.7 hours and the engine total time was 2,683.7 hours. The left magneto was replaced on September 16, 2014, at a tachometer time of 2,959.0 hours (275.3 hours since overhaul). No entries related to the right magneto were found after the overhaul.
Postaccident Examination and Engine Testing
The FAA was notified on September 23, and a postaccident examination began the next day. The main landing gear had collapsed, the firewall was deformed, and the engine cowling was dislocated, but the engine and mount remained secured. The engine rotated freely, compression was obtained in each cylinder, and spark plugs exhibited normal operating signatures.
The engine was removed and test-run, reaching 2,650 rpm and 29 inches of manifold pressure on the left magneto only. It also ran when both magnetos were selected, but did not run normally on the right magneto alone. Bench testing of the magnetos under NTSB supervision showed each produced a spark across all leads. A teardown of the right magneto revealed a worn distributor bushing causing excessive play between the distributor gear and block, and the contacts exhibited excessive wear with metallic deposits in the housing.