What happened
On June 11, 2001, a Piper Aircraft/PA 34-200T departed Straubing, Germany, on a business flight toward Targu Mures, Romania. The flight was initially conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) with plans to transition to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). While cruising at FL 58, the aircraft entered Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) and experienced a failure of the left engine.
Following the engine failure, the aircraft began a continuous descent because the pilot could not maintain altitude using only the remaining right engine. During the descent, the pilot attempted to restore power to the left engine several times without success. As the aircraft descended to approximately 300 ft AGL, the pilot performed an emergency landing on a meadow situated on a steep slope. During the landing sequence, the aircraft struck a utility pole with its right engine, causing the pole to break and resulting in a local power outage.
5 occupants were seriously injured in the accident, and the aircraft was destroyed. The collision also caused damage to the utility pole and surrounding property.
The investigation
The BFU examined the aircraft's airframe and both engines. While no defects were found in the airframe, investigators focused on the engines due to the pilot's report that the right engine had failed to produce full power following the initial failure.
Testing of the left engine revealed a very lean combustion pattern, suggesting a lean fuel-air mixture. Although the fuel system initially showed a low delivery rate that normalized after manual intervention, no reproducible fault was found. The right engine was found to have a heavily contaminated and corroded fuel pump, and the fuel injector for cylinder number five was clogged with debris.
Investigators also reviewed the aircraft's weight and balance. At the time of the accident, the aircraft's weight was approximately 2,275 kg, which exceeded the manufacturer-recommended maximum takeoff weight of 1,999 kg by roughly 276 kg.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the failure of the left engine combined with a loss of power in the right engine and the failure to execute proper emergency procedures.
- The pilot failed to activate the electric fuel pump immediately following the left engine failure; doing so likely would have restored engine power.
- The pilot did not transition the propeller to the feathered position, which increased drag and hindered single-engine performance.
- The aircraft was significantly overloaded, which prevented the pilot from maintaining sufficient altitude to reach an alternative airfield.
- Low cloud ceilings restricted the pilot's ability to select a more suitable emergency landing site, leading to the collision with the utility pole.