Accident Details
On September 14, 2022, at about 1140 mountain daylight time, a Piper PA-28R-180 (registration N3713T) was substantially damaged during an accident near Broomfield, Colorado. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The flight was conducted as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
Flight and Engine Issue
The pilot had recently purchased the airplane and had been flying it regularly in the three weeks preceding the accident. The flight departed from runway 16 at Erie Municipal Airport (EIK), Erie, Colorado, where the airplane was based. While climbing through about 200 ft above ground level, the engine experienced a partial loss of power. According to the pilot, although the engine continued running, it was not producing sufficient power to maintain a climb. The pilot performed a forced landing into a residential area. During the landing, the airplane nosed over and came to rest in a pond. Both wings sustained substantial damage.
Postaccident Examination
A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the interior liner of the induction air hose, located between the air filter and the throttle body, was partially collapsed inward. The exterior of the hose showed no obvious damage. No other preimpact anomalies that could explain the reported loss of engine power were identified. The airplane was equipped with a Garmin electronic flight instrument system (EFIS), but the system did not record engine parameters. Flight data recovered from the EFIS was consistent with the pilot's account. The engine instrumentation consisted of non-recording analog gauges, which were consistent with those installed during the aircraft's manufacture in 1967.
Weather Conditions
The temperature and dew point around the time of the accident were conducive to carburetor icing at glide and cruise power settings.