Flight Details
On September 4, 2023, at 1031 eastern daylight time, a Beech A36, registration N1WN, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Frankfort, Kentucky. The pilot and three passengers were not injured. The flight was operated as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The pilot departed Gary/Chicago International Airport (GYY), Gary, Indiana, for Greenwood County Airport (GRD), Greenwood, South Carolina. He began the flight with full fuel tanks and the fuel selector set to the right tank. After about one hour, he switched to the left fuel tank.
Accident Sequence
Approximately 30–40 minutes later, while in cruise flight at 7,000 ft mean sea level, the engine stopped producing power and the propeller continued to windmill. The pilot disengaged the autopilot, advanced the throttle, and established best glide speed. He declared an emergency to air traffic control, who advised that Capital City Airport (FFT), Frankfort, Kentucky, was about 8 nautical miles ahead. The pilot took no further remedial actions to restore engine power. Realizing the airplane would not reach the runway, he landed with the landing gear retracted on airport property. The airplane slid across a taxiway, struck a taxiway light, and came to rest in the grass.
Postaccident Examination
The fuselage sustained lateral scraping and gouging along the belly skin, which was wrinkled aft of the firewall. The left wing was damaged consistent with ground contact. The engine mount structure was bent upward about 3 degrees.
The fuel strainer screen and bowl were free of debris. Both wing fuel tanks were intact and contained fuel, with the fuel tank caps seated in place. Fuel tested with water finding paste showed no contamination. All fuel screens were unobstructed. The inboard fuel vent tubes were obstructed by insect nests, but air passed through the remainder of the fuel vent system without restriction. Testing of the fuel boost pump revealed no restriction to fuel flow even with the blocked vent. All spark plugs showed normal wear, and borescope examination of the cylinders revealed no anomalies. Thumb compression was achieved on all cylinders when the propeller was rotated by hand.
Engine Tests
The impact-damaged propeller was replaced with a serviceable one, and the ignition switch was bypassed because the ignition key was not present for the examination. The engine was started using the airplane’s battery, which retained its charge. The engine idled at 700 rpm. The right magneto was disconnected, and the engine started on the left magneto only and ran normally. The right magneto was reconnected, the left magneto disconnected, and the engine started on the right magneto only and ran normally. The crankshaft was slightly bent and produced vibration, so the engine was not operated above idle.
Conclusion
Examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was equipped with an engine data monitor, but no data was recovered because the data recording option was not configured to record. The engine had accumulated less than 30 hours since factory overhaul.