Accident Summary
On July 7, 2018, at 0920 central daylight time, a Piper PA-34-220T, registration N294AB, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to wooded terrain near Jack Edwards Airport (JKA) in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The private pilot and four passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane was privately owned and operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the flight, which departed Lafayette Regional Airport (LFT) in Lafayette, Louisiana, and was destined for JKA.
The pilot reported that the landing began normally, but the airplane started to porpoise or oscillate. After the third or fourth bounce, he aborted the landing. He advanced the throttle, propeller, and mixture levers to full forward and retracted the landing gear after establishing a positive rate of climb. Immediately after, the left engine appeared to lose power and was surging. The airplane yawed to the left, while the right engine continued to operate normally. The pilot attempted to restore left engine power by placing the auxiliary fuel pump switch to high and selecting crossfeed on the left fuel selector. The left engine then stopped producing power, the stall horn sounded, and the controls began to buffet. The pilot reported having no time to consult the checklist and chose to land straight ahead into trees. The airplane came to rest upright with substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage.
Pilot and Flight Information
The pilot held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane. He reported 335 total hours of flight experience, including 65 hours in multiengine airplanes and 33 hours in the accident airplane make and model. In a written statement, the pilot described his preflight inspection: he performed weight and balance calculations and loaded the airplane with golf clubs, baggage, and the passengers. He visually checked for the presence of fuel but did not measure the fuel in the tanks or service them with additional fuel. He noted no anomalies and estimated that there were 30 gallons of fuel per side according to the fuel gauges.
Weather recorded at JKA at 1415 included scattered clouds at 2,100 feet, calm wind, temperature 28°C, dew point 23°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.08 inches of mercury.
Engine and Fuel System Examination
An aircraft recovery specialist who recovered the airplane reported that an odor of fuel was detected at the site, but no fuel drained from either wing when each was separated from the airframe. No fuel-spillage remediation was required after recovery.
Data downloaded from the onboard JPI 760 engine data monitor revealed a profile consistent with the left engine power surging and power loss as described by the pilot.
The engines were examined at the manufacturer's facility in Mobile, Alabama. The right engine was placed in a test cell with a club propeller installed (the original propeller was removed due to impact damage). The engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption. It completed the manufacturer's test protocol with no anomalies.
The left engine was not test-run due to separation of the propeller flange by impact. Hand rotation through the propeller governor drive pad established continuity through the powertrain and valve train to the accessory section. Compression on each cylinder was confirmed using the thumb method. Internal engine timing was confirmed through index alignment on the camshaft and crankshaft gears. Magneto timing was confirmed using an electronic magneto synchronizer. The left and right magnetos were bench-tested and produced spark at all terminal leads, except a cut in the No. 5 bottom terminal lead on the left magneto that was consistent with impact damage.
Components of the fuel system were bench-tested, and the demonstrated flow rates were within ranges necessary to sustain normal engine operation. Flow rates outside the nominal bench-test ranges were affected by airframe-specific, on-airframe adjustments.
Interpolation of performance charts at the maximum allowable gross takeoff weight and atmospheric conditions consistent with those at the time of the accident indicated that the airplane's single-engine rate of climb was 280 feet per minute. According to the examination, neither engine displayed any preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have prevented normal operation.