Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain Forced Landing at Skeerpoort Valley (ZS-JOA)

Accident Overview and Flight History On Saturday, 13 November 2010, a Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain, registration ZS-JOA, departed Lanseria aerodrome (FALA) in Gauteng province for a post-maintenance test flight. The aircraft was operated by Somerset Charters (PTY) Ltd under Part 135 of the Civil Aviation Regulations. The pilot-in-command, a 49-year-old South African commercial pilot with a valid class 2 test pilot rating, was accompanied by two passengers: an aircraft maintenance engineer and a pilot not rated on the aircraft type. The aircraft taxied to the threshold of runway 06L, and after pre-takeoff checks, the pilot obtained takeoff clearance. Following departure, the aircraft exited the FALA controlled zone at approximately 7,000 feet AMSL and turned left toward Hartebeespoort Dam. The flight proceeded normally for 14 minutes until the pilot reported an electrical failure and requested inbound clearance from FALA tower. ## Engine Failure and Forced Landing As the aircraft turned back toward Lanseria, the left engine began to splutter and subsequently stopped. The pilot continued flying on one engine for several minutes before the right engine also failed. With both engines inoperative, the aircraft began to lose altitude, and the pilot identified an open field for a forced landing. The pilot manually lowered the undercarriage and maintained an indicated airspeed of 120 mph while keeping the flaps retracted. The aircraft touched down on rocky terrain, causing the undercarriage to collapse. It skidded approximately 70 meters before coming to rest with the nose facing west. The pilot exited the aircraft with back injuries and was airlifted to a military hospital. Both passengers disembarked unharmed. The pilot immediately switched off the master switch, and the engineer retrieved a Halon fire extinguisher and disconnected the battery. Emergency response services secured the scene. ## Aircraft and Personnel Details The aircraft, a 1975-manufactured twin-engine, retractable landing gear multi-purpose aircraft, had 8,977.7 total airframe hours at the time of the accident. It was powered by Lycoming LTI0-540J2BD engines and equipped with Hartzell propellers. The aircraft had undergone a maintenance inspection on 14 May 2010, and the fuel gauges were calibrated on the same date. The pilot held a commercial license with instrument and flight test ratings, had 843.3 total flying hours, and 42.3 hours on type. ## Investigation Findings The accident occurred in daylight conditions with CAVOK visibility and a temperature of 22°C. The aircraft was not equipped with a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder, as not required by regulation. Wreckage examination revealed substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, wings, and landing gear. The right throttle lever was found in the full forward position, and the right fuel tank selector was set to the inboard fuel tanks. No evidence of pre- or post-impact fire was found. The probable cause was determined to be an unsuccessful forced landing following in-flight fuel exhaustion, attributed to fuel mismanagement.