Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

West Milford, New Jersey 07480
Sunday, June 27, 1993 16:06 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

AFTER TAKEOFF, THE ENGINE EXPERIENCED A PARTIAL POWER LOSS. THE PILOT SET UP FOR A FORCED LANDING ON A LAKE. PRIOR TO LANDING, THE AIRPLANE STRUCK A TREE, AND THEN CAME TO REST IN THE LAKE. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION FOUND THE TWO MAGNETOS WERE DRIVEN BY A SINGLE DRIVE WHICH HAD A BROKEN IMPULSE COUPLING SPRING. THE BROKEN SPRING ALLOWED THE ENGINE TIMING TO RETARD APROXIMATELY 20 DEGREES. WHEN THE ENGINE WAS RUN, IT WOULD NOT EXCEED 1900 RPM AND WAS IT RAN ROUGH. WHEN THE IMPULSE COUPLING WAS REPLACED, THE ENGINE PRODUCED 2800 RPM. METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION OF THE FAILED SPRING FOUND THE FRACTURE ORIGINATED WITH FATIGUE AND THEN FAILED IN OVERLOAD. ACCORDING TO THE NTSB METALLURGICAL REPORT, THE CRACKS FOUND AT THE ORIGIN OF THE FAILURE WERE CREATED WHEN THE SPRING WAS MANUFACTURED.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A manufacturer's defect which resulted in fatigue failure of the magneto impluse coupling spring and the loss of engine power. A factor was unsuitable terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/27/1993
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1606
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City WEST MILFORD
Event State NEW JERSEY
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 07480
Event Date Year 1993
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 2
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency FAA
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1817
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 27 1993 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1725
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 1:24PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8220J
NTSB Number NYC93LA129
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model PA-28-236
Aircraft Series Identifier PA-28-236
Aircraft Serial Number 28-8011114
Certified Max Gross Weight 3000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Feb 17 1993 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 79
Airframe Hours 2006
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MILLION AIR
Aircraft Owner Street Address 485 INDUSTRIAL AVENUE
Aircraft Owner City TETERBORO
Aircraft Owner State NJ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 07608
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code IMJA
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --