History of Flight
On August 7, 2015, at about 1750 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-46-500TP, registration N819TB, was destroyed when it collided with terrain shortly after departing from Adirondack Regional Airport (SLK) in Saranac Lake, New York. The private pilot and three passengers sustained fatal injuries. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed for the planned trip to Greater Rochester International Airport (ROC) in Rochester, New York.
The airplane, based at ROC, had flown uneventfully to SLK earlier that day. Prior to the accident flight, the aircraft was fueled with 44 gallons of Jet A fuel. The pilot contacted flight service at 1734 and received his IFR clearance at 1744, which he read back correctly. During departure, a witness—an airport employee—heard the pilot announce on the common traffic advisory frequency that the airplane was departing on runway 5. No further communications were received, and no eye witnesses observed the accident. The wreckage was located around 1830 in a wooded area about half a mile northwest of the departure end of runway 5, spotted by pilots in another airplane who saw smoke from a postcrash fire.
Pilot Information
The pilot, aged 67, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent FAA second-class medical certificate was issued on March 16, 2015, at which time he reported 4,620 total flight hours, with 60 hours in the previous six months. His logbook showed approximately 229.8 hours in the accident airplane since September 7, 2013, nine days after he purchased it. In the 90 days before the accident, he flew 21.6 hours, with 3.9 hours in the preceding 30 days, all in the accident airplane, not including the roughly 1-hour flight to SLK earlier that day.
Aircraft Information
The six-seat, low-wing, retractable tricycle-gear airplane, serial number 4697117, was manufactured in 2001. It was powered by a Pratt and Whitney of Canada PT6A-42A engine rated at 500 horsepower, driving a four-blade, controllable-pitch Hartzell propeller. The most recent annual inspection was completed on November 6, 2014, at 1,294.5 airframe and engine hours. This inspection included a detailed engine inspection following an over-temperature event during a previous startup, which would have required propeller removal and reinstallation. The airplane subsequently flew about 100 hours before the accident.
On July 7, 2015, about six hours prior to the accident, a 100-hour power recovery and turbine wash was performed. During that maintenance, a pitch trim servo was replaced (the autopilot had trimmed only in one direction) and the pilot-side trim switch button was replaced (it was broken). A friend of the pilot reported flying with him on July 29, 2015, performing approaches and holds with and without the autopilot; no anomalies were noted.
Weather Information
Recorded weather at SLK at 1751 included wind from 360 degrees at 6 knots, broken ceiling at 6,000 feet, visibility 10 miles, temperature 20°C, dew point 11°C, and altimeter 29.99 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest upright against several trees, oriented approximately 020 degrees magnetic. A debris path began with freshly cut tree branches; red lens fragments from the left wing navigation light were embedded in a branch, consistent with a left-wing-low, nose-down impact. The debris path extended 60 feet on a course of about 195 degrees to the main wreckage, which was partially consumed by postcrash fire. The cockpit was consumed, and no readable flight instruments were recovered. The right wing remained partially attached, with more fire damage near the wingtip; the right flap and aileron were partially attached. The left wing was bent aft, twisted, and partially consumed. The horizontal and vertical stabilizer remained intact with elevator and rudder attached, showing fire damage.
Flight control continuity was confirmed from left and right aileron sectors to the mid-cabin area. Elevator and rudder control continuity was also confirmed. The flap actuator corresponded to a retracted setting, and the landing gear actuator to a retracted position. Rudder trim linkage was near neutral. The elevator jackscrew measured approximately 13.5 degrees tab down (50 percent nose-up). A representative from the airframe manufacturer stated this was near the upper limit of the takeoff range but within it.
The propeller separated from the engine and was found in a crater 20 feet along the debris path. One blade was loose in the hub; the other three remained attached. Blades exhibited aft bending, chordwise scratching, leading edge nicks, and twisting. The engine remained attached and was disassembled, revealing rotational scoring on compressor and turbine components. The accessory gearbox and inlet were consumed by fire.
A teardown examination of the propeller revealed that the reversing lever guide pin had been installed backwards. Without correct installation, the reversing lever (beta arm) and carbon block could dislodge, causing uncommanded feathering. However, the carbon block was in place, and the propeller was not feathered at impact; blade angle was between 27 and 29 degrees, within the normal operating range. If the beta arm had dislodged, spring pressure would have held it in feather. Maintenance records showed no other propeller removal after the annual inspection.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed at Adirondack Medical Center determined the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries due to the aircraft accident. The autopsy also identified significant heart disease, including 70 to 80 percent stenosis of the right coronary artery and 80 percent stenosis of the left anterior descending artery, without evidence of a previous heart attack. Mitral annular calcification was noted. Toxicological testing was negative for alcohol and drugs.