Accident Overview
On June 17, 2024, at 0816 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-31-310, Canadian registration C-GKSI, was destroyed when it crashed in Loudonville, New York. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured, and one person on the ground sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operating as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 positioning flight.
Flight History
The airplane departed runway 19 at Albany International Airport (ALB), Albany, New York, at 0815 on an instrument flight rules flight to Montreal/Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (CYUL), Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Witnesses, radar track data, and airport surveillance video indicated that after takeoff, the airplane climbed to 200 ft above ground level (agl) and remained at 200–300 ft agl until it passed the departure end of the runway. The airplane then abruptly pitched up, leveled, pitched up again, and climbed to about 800 ft. Subsequently, it performed a "barrel roll," descended to 200 ft, turned left, and completed one or two 360° rolls before descending to the ground. The last radar data point showed the airplane at 200 ft and 1.5 nautical miles southeast of ALB, on a track of 007° at 97 knots ground speed.
Impact and Wreckage
The airplane impacted a wooded area along a wreckage path oriented 011° true and came to rest upright, oriented to 185° true, about 165 ft northeast of the last radar data point. It struck several trees along the path. A woman walking near the site sustained minor injuries when struck by debris.
Examination of the wreckage revealed that the right engine with propeller attached, and the left engine propeller (which had separated from its mounting flange), came to rest at the base of a tree about 55 ft before the main wreckage. The left engine was impact-separated from its wing attachment points near the main wreckage. Both propellers displayed chordwise scarring and leading-edge gouges consistent with rotation at impact. A post-impact fire substantially consumed the wings, fuselage, empennage, and instrumentation. No evidence of an in-flight fire was found in the wreckage or witness video.
Pilot and Aircraft Information
The operator reported that the pilot had accrued about 22 hours of flight time in the accident airplane and approximately 1,800 total flight hours. The accident flight was a positioning flight back to Canada after completing aerial survey flights in North Carolina. Fuel records and airport video indicated that the airplane was fully fueled before departure from ALB. Testing of the fuel truck fuel revealed no contaminants.
Engine and Flight Control Examination
Post-recovery examination of both engines found no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of both propellers indicated they were rotating, consistent with engine power at impact. Flight control continuity for ailerons was confirmed. Rudder cables were burned away from the rudder horn, but cable ends remained attached to cables that were continuous through fractures consistent with overload to the rudder bar; one rudder cable was burned away from its attachment at the rudder bar. Elevator flight control continuity was confirmed. The elevator trim actuator was found with 1.0 inch of threaded rod on the forward side, with 10 threads exposed, corresponding to a full nose-up trim condition.
Status
The wreckage was retained for further examination.