Flight Details
On Saturday, 26 August 2000, at approximately 18:30 local time, a Piper PA-32RT-300T (registration EC-HNE) executed an emergency landing on a road near Segovia, Spain. The aircraft had departed Cuatro Vientos Airport around 15:05 UTC for a pleasure flight of about three hours, with a planned destination of Casarrubios del Monte Airfield. On board were the pilot, a 27-year-old commercial pilot with 400 total flight hours (7 on type), and two passengers.
Sequence of Events
About 90 minutes into the flight, while climbing through 7,300 feet near La Granja de San Ildefonso, the pilot experienced a strong vibration accompanied by a significant loss of power and fluid leakage from the front of the engine, which he believed to be oil. Within seconds, smoke and a burnt smell entered the cabin. Suspecting an engine compartment fire, the pilot shut down the engine and cut fuel. He declared an emergency with Valladolid Tower, indicating a position about 12 miles east of Segovia. After disabling electrical systems, he performed a gear-up landing in a field parallel to the road between Revenga and Robledo, at kilometer marker 3. All three occupants immediately evacuated the aircraft without assistance. No injuries were reported, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage to the engine, propeller, and lower structure.
Engine Inspection
Post-accident inspection of the Lycoming TIO-540-S1AD engine revealed a crack through the full thickness of the crankcase wall at the joint of the two halves, affecting the lubrication passage for the camshaft. At least two tappets and their housings were broken, and impact marks from detached fragments were found on interior crankcase walls, pistons, connecting rods, and crankshaft. The preliminary analysis indicated that the initial failure was a tappet break, possibly due to seizing, which then caused the subsequent internal damage and oil loss.
Occupants and Survival
The three occupants—the pilot and two passengers—were uninjured. They exited the aircraft on their own and without difficulty. There was no fire.