On December 29, 2022, about 1329 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-24-260, N9026P, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Athens, Georgia. The pilot sustained minor injuries and the passenger was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The airplane was operated for about 30 minutes with a prolonged run-up after the replacement of a magneto, and a short test flight was performed to ensure there were no issues with the airplane. The pilot reported that he sampled fuel from the fuel tanks and found no water during the preflight inspection, and then he and his passenger departed Athens/Ben Epps Airport (AHN), Athens, Georgia, with 36 gallons of fuel around 1322 on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Shortly after leveling off at 3,000 ft mean sea level, the pilot adjusted the engine power settings and disengaged the electrical fuel pump. Soon after, the engine “seemed to power down, like the engine went to idle.” The pilot established best glide speed, turned on the fuel pump, changed fuel tanks, and performed a check of the mixture, ignition, and master switch but was unable to restore engine power. He declared an emergency and turned back toward AHN. Less than a mile from the runway, the pilot realized that the airplane was not going to reach the airport and prepared to land in a field just past some trees; however, the airplane pitched up and stalled over the trees, then descended through the trees to the ground.
Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane came to rest inverted in the trees. The wings, fuselage and empennage were substantially damaged. There was no evidence of fire. Fuel was leaking from the right wing at the accident site, and fuel was drained from the left wing when the airplane was recovered.
Postaccident examination of the engine revealed continuity of the crankshaft to the rear accessory gears and to the valvetrain. Suction and compression were achieved on all six cylinders, and the interiors of the cylinders were observed using a lighted borescope with no anomalies noted. The engine examination revealed that the left magneto ground strap was not connected to the magneto and its hardware was not located, debris was observed in the fuel servo filter, and water was observed in the fuel samples as well as the gascolator bowl. Examination of the airframe revealed that the electrical fuel pump would not operate during a field test by applying DC power, nor would it rotate by hand. The pump was disassembled and rust was observed at and around the shaft bearing.
Data was extracted from an engine data monitor that was recovered from the airplane. The panel-mounted device displayed critical engine data including, but not limited to, engine rpm, manifold pressure, oil pressure and temperature, fuel flow, and cylinder head and exhaust gas temperature. The device was configured to record data once every 6 seconds. The data revealed a loss in fuel pressure followed by a loss of engine rpm about two minutes after takeoff.
Review of maintenance records revealed that the right magneto was removed on the day of the accident and a new one installed.
FAA Advisory Circular 20-125, “Water in Aviation Fuels,” stated that “an important part of the preflight inspection is to drain aircraft fuel tanks sumps, reservoirs, gascolators, filters and other fuel system drains to assure that the fuel supply is free of water.” The advisory circular also stated the following: Aircraft fuel tanks are constructed with sumps to trap water. Since it is practically impossible to drain all water from the tanks through the fuel lines, the fuel tank sumps should be regularly drained in order to remove all water from the system. It may be necessary to gently rock the wings of some aircraft while draining the sumps in order to completely drain all the water.