What happened
On October 18, 2018, a Piper PA34-200, registration HK 4960G, departed Quibdó, Colombia, at 17:10 local time, bound for Medellín. The flight was being conducted under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) with the pilot and one passenger on board. While cruising at 12,000 feet near Fredonia, Air Traffic Services (ATS) instructed the pilot to transition to Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and divert to the alternate airport, José María Córdova (SKRG), because the destination airport, Enrique Olaya Herrera (SKMD), was closing due to sunset.
During the subsequent climb to 13,000 feet, the aircraft experienced a loss of power in the right engine. The failure prevented the aircraft from maintaining the required altitude, forcing the pilot to descend to 8,500 feet. Unable to reach the intended alternate airport with a single engine, the pilot opted to perform an emergency landing on a known unprepared strip used by ultralight aircraft near Bolombolo.
During the landing roll, the aircraft drifted to the right and struck a tree trunk. The impact caused significant damage to the right wing, the right landing gear, and the propellers of both engines. Despite the major damage to the airframe, the pilot and passenger were able to evacuate the aircraft uninjured.
The investigation
The GRIAA investigation focused on the mechanical failure and the decision-making process leading to the emergency. Investigators examined maintenance records, which revealed that an oil leak had been reported on the right engine just six days prior to the incident. The investigation determined that the maintenance performed to address this leak was inadequate, directly resulting in the engine malfunction.
Furthermore, the investigation analyzed the flight planning and the role of ATS services. It was noted that the pilot's flight plan did not account for the sunset timing at the destination, and the ATS at Quibdó had cleared the flight despite the arrival time being after the airport's operational hours.