History of Flight
On January 25, 2020, at about 0930 eastern standard time, a Piper PA32-260, registration N55455, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Lake City, Florida. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91.
A witness reported that the pilot had flown to Cannon Creek Airpark (15FL) the previous weekend. At that time, the pilot indicated that the engine “cut out” on short final approach to the runway; however, after landing, an engine run-up was performed and the engine operated normally. The pilot and the witness then opened the engine cowling and observed an oil leak. The pilot contacted a local mechanic to repair the leak. A couple of days later, the engine was run and no oil leaks were noted. On the night before the accident flight, the pilot and witness taxied the airplane to the fuel tank and topped off the wing tanks and left-wing tip tank, but they did not add fuel to the right-wing tip tank because it had a fuel leak.
On the morning of the accident, the witness and pilot conducted a preflight inspection and noted no anomalies. The witness watched the airplane take off from runway 36 and observed that the pilot “turned hard left” after the airplane cleared the trees, which was earlier than normal. The witness then returned to his vehicle when he heard a loud bang and saw smoke. He drove to the smoke and saw that the airplane was engulfed in flames.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest on the side of a house in a subdivision about 1,000 ft to the west of the midpoint of the runway. The wreckage was oriented on a heading of 215° and there was no discernible horizontal wreckage path. A postaccident fire consumed the airplane, and only the tail section remained intact and undamaged by fire. The cockpit, instrument panel, firewall, fuselage, and wings were all destroyed by the fire; the engine accessory case was also consumed. The magnetos, fuel pump, carburetor, vacuum pump, and oil filter were destroyed. All major components of the airplane were accounted for at the scene. Control cable continuity was confirmed to the respective controls.
Postaccident examination of the engine revealed the engine crankcase and cylinders were intact. The top spark plugs were removed, and a borescope examination of the cylinder walls, exhaust, intake valves, and piston heads showed no anomalies. The engine’s crankshaft was rotated by hand and thumb compression was established on all cylinders. Valve train continuity was established throughout the engine by observing movement of the rocker arms and rear accessory case gears.
Both propeller blades remained attached to the hub. One blade was bent aft about midblade, and both blades were twisted near the tip.
A witness near the airport captured the airplane engine noise on a video camera. The airplane was not captured in the video, and its position, ground track, speed, and the point during the accident sequence when the audio occurred could not be determined. A sound spectrum analysis by the National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorders Laboratory indicated that during the recorded audio from the accident airplane’s engine, the engine rpm was approximately 2,584 rpm, slightly below the maximum rated 2,700 rpm.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed on the pilot by the Office of the Medical Examiner, Jacksonville, Florida, reported the cause of death as blunt force trauma. Toxicology testing conducted at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory found no tested-for drugs or alcohol.