Accident Summary
On October 31, 2016, at 1502 eastern daylight time, a privately owned Piper PA-32-300, registration N3941X, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Bartow, Florida. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight was conducted under visual meteorological conditions with no flight plan filed, operating under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Sanford International Airport (SFB) in Orlando, Florida, and was destined for Bartow Municipal Airport (BOW) in Bartow, Florida.
Pilot Account
According to the pilot, while entering a left downwind leg for the traffic pattern on runway 05 at BOW, he reduced engine power. The airplane then began to vibrate and shake, and the engine lost all power, with the propeller continuing to windmill. The pilot attempted to restart the engine using emergency checklist procedures but was unsuccessful. Determining that he could not reach the runway, he maneuvered toward a nearby pasture for an emergency landing. During the landing rollout, the airplane struck a fence, damaging the left wheel hydraulic brake line, which caused a loss of brake pressure. When the pilot applied the brakes, he lost directional control, and the nose landing gear collapsed.
Post-Accident Examination
An examination by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the firewall was damaged, and the fuselage skin aft of the firewall was wrinkled. An unmeasured amount of fuel was present in all four fuel tanks, and fuel was present at the fuel injector nozzles. Oil was present in the crankcase, and cylinder compression was attained on all cylinders when the propeller was rotated by hand. While rotating the engine, a grinding/crunching noise occurred once but was not repeatable. The magnetos made noise consistent with rotation but were not tested for spark. The engine oil filter contained some particles.
The FAA inspector noted that the engine had accrued about 2,060 total hours since overhaul, and the airplane had flown about 25 hours since its most recent annual inspection.
A subsequent examination by a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator involved removal of the lower engine cowling and top spark plugs, after which the engine's crankshaft was manually rotated without any signs of grinding. Thumb compression was attained on all cylinders. The oil finger screen was removed and found clean and clear of debris. The No. 4 cylinder was removed to access the crankcase and view the crankshaft, camshaft, and internal components. The push rods were clean, with no carbon or metal present. No rust was present in the cylinder, no scoring from rings, and no signs of rubbing. The valves were seated with no traces of overtemperature. The pushrods and rockers were clean, lubricated, and free of metal. The piston and rings were clean with no marks. The connecting rod was clean, moved freely, and lubricated. The camshaft, crankshaft, and other visible internal components were clean with no corrosion or metal particles.
The oil filter was cut open during the previous examination and contained carbon deposits at the bottom of the filter case. Both magnetos were removed, manually rotated, and produced spark from all leads. The fuel servo was removed and inspected; it was clean and the finger filter was clear of debris. The air and fuel diaphragms were intact with no tears or marks. The fuel filter in the mid center section of the airplane was removed for examination and found clean, absent of debris, and containing aviation gasoline. All fuel injectors were removed and inspected; they were clean and absent of debris. The flow divider spider was opened for examination and was clean and clear of debris with the diaphragm intact. The air filter was removed and also found clean and clear of debris.