Medina Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Medina, Ohio 44256
Tuesady, September 25, 2001 14:20 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After take-off, the pilot heard the engine "pop" followed by a loss of engine power, which resulted in a forced landing into trees. Examination of the engine revealed that a newly installed factory remanufactured single-drive dual magneto had separated from the engine. It had accumulated 17.9 hours at the time of the accident. Examination of the magneto and the installed clamping blocks revealed that the mounting flanges on both sides of the distributor housing exhibited fatigue beach marks. Examination of the mounting flanges also revealed that there were two sets of contact marks. The smaller more linear inboard set of marks matched the contour of the installed magneto clamping blocks when tilted slightly. These marks only penetrated slightly into the surface of the flanges. The installed clamping blocks appeared to meet the shape and dimensional requirements of older style clamping blocks issued by the engine manufacturer. The other marks were wider with curved ends that did not match any feature of the older style installed clamping blocks. A small step was apparent at the edge of the larger contact area indicating removal or displacement of material from the surface. The marks did however appear to match the configuration and shape for newer style clamping blocks introduced by the engine manufacturer on engines produced after March 1985. According to the engine manufacturer, the change was instituted as a production product improvement and the use of the newer clamping blocks was not a mandatory requirement on the engine installed in this airplane. According to the magneto manufacturer, the magneto housings are stripped of paint and dipped into a dichromate bath for corrosion prevention during the remanufacturing process. They were subjected to an inspection for cracks, but the inspection was only visual. .

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

fatigue failure of the dual magneto mounting flanges that resulted from undetected contact damage sustained during a previous installation, which resulted in its separation from the engine during take-off.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/25/2001
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1420
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City MEDINA
Event State OHIO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 44256
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport MEDINA MUNICIPAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 1G5
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport 270
Airport Elevation 1160
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 220
Weather Observation Facility ID BJJ
Elevation of weather observation facility 1136
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 16
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2400
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 6
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.99
Density Altitude (feet) 2050
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13786
NTSB Notification Source GLOC
NTSB Notification Date Sep 25 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1840
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 26 2003 8:17AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office CLEVELAND FAA/FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N39945
NTSB Number IAD01LA107
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-32RT-300T
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 32R7887172
Certified Max Gross Weight 3400
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 6
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 1 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 82.5
Airframe Hours 4013.3
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JAMES BROWN
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City AKRON
Aircraft Owner State OH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 44256
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name WESTLINE CONSTRUCTION
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City MEDINA
Operator State OH
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 44256
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 1G5
Departure City MEDINA
Departure State OH
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1420
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 10G
Destination City HOLMES COUNTY
Destination State OH
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Aug 1 2002 2:17PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 27
Runway Length 3556
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --